Lost in a maze of lies
by Becca86
Summary: Life at college is hard, especially if you are secretly in love with your best friend who already has a steady relationship with his girlfriend, even though some facts make you wonder if that isn't just a facade. Warning : yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : Kingdom Hearts and its characters aren't mine.

_Hey everyone! How are you doing? I hope you're fine and in the mood for reading a new story! A challenge story, in fact. Florrie asked me to write a story based on the summary and a few of the characters' lines she gave me and that's what I came up with. __(At least, I hope that's the right name. Forgot to write it and the retard that I am deleted her message…Please, I want a brand new brain, mine's seriously damaged.) Expect drama, romance and a bit of funny situations, as usual. (When will I ever write a story that isn't funny at all? Never, that's the answer. XD) Oh, and let's not forget yaoi, because there will be, but I'm not telling which pairings will be in this story. I don't want to spoil the fun. :x Okay, that note is already too long so I'll just let you read this first chapter. I hope you'll enjoy and that I don't deceive anyone who was waiting for this. As usual, forgive any mistakes, please. _

oooOOOooo

Prologue

Sora's POV

Since I was a child, I've always been considered cheerful and kind to anything alive. I'm the kind of guy who wouldn't even hurt a fly. I guess that's what Riku liked about me when we first met. We both grew up on the Destiny Islands and since our houses were only a few blocks apart, we saw each other often. And little by little we became friends, and then best friends and things stayed that way for a long while. Until Kairi's family moved in. Now, don't get me wrong. Riku and I still talk to each other but it's just not the same any more. I spend a lot of time with Kairi and somehow, Riku and I grew apart. Sometimes, I wonder why things ended up this way and during those times, I wonder why it hurts so much to not see him as frequently as before. I eventually realised I liked Riku as more than a simple friend thanks to that gap between us. Knowing that, I couldn't bring myself to grow closer to him again. What would he think if he knew? I don't want to lose him and if things staying that way can prevent that, then I won't change them. That's the only solution, right?

Riku's POV

Sora's such a dumbass. We were fine when it was just the two of us so why did he ditch me for Kairi? She's a nice girl, I'll admit that, but still. I guess he must like her a lot more than me. They're even an item now. I envy her a lot. I've liked Sora since I've known what it felt like to be attracted to someone, which would be years ago now. Heck, I guess it even dates back to before that. Anyway, he's with Kairi now so there's no use thinking about this any more. And I'm engaged to Naminé so I should forget about the past. She's such a nice girl and she's tried her best to make me happy. I just hope she'll never know I agreed to date her only because I didn't want to hurt her. And since I can't date Sora, things work just fine. Yeah, right.

sOxOs

The Destiny Islands' college was known to have many hidden talents. For instance, there was Demyx, a soon-to-be famous musician who had already a bunch of fans amongst the student community. There was also Zexion, a smart boy whose theses were often published in scientific magazines. Many other students were like them.

"Listen guys, I have something that's really important to tell you," a cute redhead began, her hands resting on her lap. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a nervous smile.

"What is it, Kairi?" her blonde friend, Naminé, asked with a worried expression on her face. The other people sitting at the table turned worried looks towards Kairi.

Most met during high school and were close friends now and the few who were still new acquaintances would soon join them.

"Well, I'm pregnant," the redhead finished, averting her friends gazes. There was a heavy silence at the table for a long while before someone eventually talked.

"That is so great, Kairi!" Demyx exclaimed from Naminé's side, making the poor girl jump a little at the sudden outburst. Hayner and Olette laughed quietly, watching the blonde take a deep breath to calm down. They were a couple since junior high school and things between them couldn't be better, from what their friends used to say when talking about the cocky blond and the shy brunette.

"Sora must be so proud," Naminé added with her gentle smile. "But isn't it a bit early for you guys to have a child? I mean, it's been, like, a few months since you started dating, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I know, but we really love each other and we want to keep our child," Kairi replied shyly, glancing at her brunet boyfriend at the other side of the table. He was talking with Riku, which was a bit surprising since the brunet usually sat next to Kairi.

"I suppose that's why he decided to sit with Riku today," Naminé said, following her friend's gaze. "He probably wants to tell him about the news himself. After all, they are good friends even if they themselves don't think so."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," the redhead whispered, heaving a sigh quietly.

Meanwhile, Sora was indeed telling Riku about Kairi's baby but he had more trouble doing it than he expected.

"Sora, are you alright? You look a bit pale," the silver-haired boy stated, reaching out to touch his friend's forehead. It didn't seem hotter than usual.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the brunet replied, shaking his head a little. When Riku removed his hand from his friend's face, the younger continued. "About that thing I wanted to tell you… Well," he mumbled, not sure about how to phrase his thoughts until he figured saying things as they were was simpler. "Kairi's pregnant."

Riku gave him a blank stare and none of them dared to speak. In fact, the older boy was devastated. Now, he was sure he'd never have a chance with who he considered to be the love of his life and marrying Naminé soon didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

"I'm happy for you," Riku lied as best as he could. Seeing his friend's small smile let him know he failed miserably but at least he had tried. "It's just a bit surprising."

"Why is it?" the brunet asked, tilting his head to the side. Once again, there was silence.

"Guys, class will start soon. We better leave or we'll be late," Naminé called, taking her tray while their other friends were already leaving.

"We're coming!" Sora replied, getting up. Riku followed suit and the three headed for their class, hoping it would be over soon, each for different reasons.

sOxOs

"What do you think about this one? Isn't it cute?" Naminé asked, showing something in a magazine to Riku the same day after class. She still hadn't chosen her wedding dress and it was starting to be rather urgent seeing as they were to get married in a few months.

"It's so frilly," the aquamarine-eyed boy stated with a grimace, clearly showing his distaste for the dress.

"Of course it's frilly. It's a wedding dress, Riku," the blonde replied with a small chuckle. Somehow, every time the boy heard the word 'wedding', he felt sick to his stomach. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you should ask someone else like, I don't know, Kairi? She's a girl and she certainly has better tastes than me when it comes to these… Things," the other stated, barely looking at the pictures displayed on the shiny pages.

"Just admit you don't want to help me," the blonde muttered with a cute pout on her face. "If I'm lucky enough, my friend will be more helpful than my future husband," she teased with a bright smile. She leaned forward and gave her fiancée a peck on the lips, said fiancé not even moving from the bed he was currently sitting on, shifting through sheets of paper and glancing at books. She disappeared from Riku's dorm room, her eyes gleaming with joy. At least, one of them was looking forward to their engagement.

"Kairi's having a child… Sora's child," the aquamarine-eyed beauty whispered to himself, lying back on his bed. "And she's complaining about that stupid dress. What should I say, then?"

There was a knock at the door before he had enough time to ponder on the question and Riku frowned when his visitors let themselves in before he gave them permission to enter.

"Hey, Riku!" a cheerful Demyx exclaimed, smiling at his pal. As the silver-haired boy expected, Zexion wasn't far behind and the slate-haired young man closed the door behind himself.

"What are you guys doing here? Don't you have class?" the youngest asked curiously, leaning on his elbows before he sat up completely.

"We're skipping," Zexion simply stated with a shrug.

"And there's something we wanted to tell you," the blond continued, his smile not faltering for a single second.

"_Please, I think I've had enough bad news for the whole month,_" Riku thought.

"We're throwing a party Friday night. We were wondering if you would come," Demyx informed his friend. Zexion just stared at him and waited.

"Who's coming?"

"Not many people since it'll be in our dorm room. Naminé and Axel are coming. I don't know about the two love-birds since I haven't asked them yet," the blond replied. "So, are you coming?"

"Sure, why not," Riku replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. "It's not like I have something better to do."

"Now, what is that supposed to mean?" the blond asked with a pout. Zexion put a hand on his shoulder and the frown disappeared almost instantly.

"See you on Friday night, then," the slate-haired boy stated as he exited the room, Demyx following close behind.

It wasn't much but knowing he'd be going to a party brought a smile to Riku's lips and the matter of Sora's child was in the far corner of his mind.

sOxOs

Meanwhile, Kairi was also having a visitor in her own dorm room. Sora stood before the girl's bed, watching Kairi's hand gently rubbing her still flat stomach. Anyone could see how happy the news made her.

"What did you want to tell me, Kairi?" Sora asked, sitting next to the redhead. She tore her gaze away from her stomach to direct it towards her friend.

"I have an appointment with my doctor Friday afternoon. It's just to make sure the baby's alright," she explained with a warm smile. "Can you accompany me? I – I don't want to go alone."

"Of course I'll go with you. You can count on me," the blue-eyed boy replied with a smile of his own.

"I'm so sorry to ask you that. You're already doing so much for me. I swear I'll make it up to you someday," the girl told him, taking his hands in hers.

"It's okay, Kairi. Don't worry about it," Sora said, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "It's what friends do."

"But it's my child's father who should come with me for the appointment," the girl whispered, her expression turning from happy to sad in a matter of seconds. Sora frowned and was about to say something but she interrupted him. "I know he can't. I don't blame him one bit."

"It's not fair, though," her friend insisted, his hands now holding Kairi's. "Does he know it's his?"

"Not yet but I plan on telling him soon enough," the young woman replied with a frown. "He has the right to know."

"Even if he's not taking responsibility for his actions," Sora retorted a bit too bluntly. He didn't apologize, though.

"It's only a matter of time. He promised he'd come to me as soon as he can," Kairi told her friend, her eyes gleaming with hope.

"How long has he been telling you that?" the brunet whispered, carefully avoiding the girl's gaze.

Someone chose that moment to suddenly enter and when Sora turned his head towards the door, he wasn't surprised to find that none other than Naminé was approaching them.

"Sorry to bother you but I really need to talk to Kairi right now," the blonde said with a small smile.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Sora said, standing and then sitting on the other girl's bed. He raised a curious eyebrow at the sight of the magazine Naminé was carrying.

"How was class?" the redhead asked her friend seating beside her on the bed.

"As boring as ever but that's not why I wanted to see you," the blonde replied, flipping through pages. "I need advice and obviously, only a girl can help me." She then showed the wedding dress Riku found too frilly to his tastes. "I'm having a hard time deciding which dress I should choose."

"This one is lovely," Kairi whispered with a dreamy stare. "I wish I could wear one of those someday."

"I think that was directed at you, Sora," Naminé teased, smiling at the brunet who only laughed nervously, scratching his cheek softly. "Oh my, I can't wait to be Riku's wife. It's going to be so great!" the blonde exclaimed excitedly.

"I guess you don't need me so I'll leave you two alone to talk about… Well, girl stuff," the blue-eyed boy told the girls as he headed for the door. "Have fun, ladies!" he added with a bright smile before he closed the door.

He took a few steps in the white corridor before he leaned against a wall and heaved a long sigh. His best friend's wedding was in three months and he still hadn't accepted the fact the silver-haired beauty would never return his feelings. How long had it been since Riku dated Naminé? Since high school, that he was sure of. Even during all those years, he couldn't forget his friend and he knew if he didn't change that quickly enough, he'd have trouble dealing with the newly weds soon.

"I have to help Kairi, first. Maybe that'll help me to finally move on," he whispered lowly. He pushed himself from the wall and decided to go for a walk. That seemed like a good idea.

sOxOs

"So, are you sure this one is fine?" Naminé asked after the two girls were done choosing the blonde's dress.

"Naminé, don't worry so much about that. I'm sure Riku will love you whatever you wear at your wedding. Besides, almost everything suits you, you lucky girl," the redhead stated, pushing her friend in a friendly manner.

The blonde laughed for a few seconds before she regained her usual seriousness. "Is Sora alright?" she suddenly asked.

Kairi tensed at this. "Yeah. Why do you ask?" the redhead asked, trying her best to not look nervous.

"He seemed a bit down before he left earlier. I wonder if something is on his mind? Oh, maybe he's just worried about the baby?" the blue-eyed girl wondered aloud, tapping her chin with her index finger.

"I guess so but really, there's no need for him to. I'm doing just fine," Kairi replied with a shrug.

Naminé frowned and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I wouldn't say that. You know, the first few months are the ones during which you should be the most careful. Sora has every right to be anxious," the other girl told Kairi. She then shook her head gently and heaved a sigh. "My, he's a boy and he knows more about pregnancy than you do."

"I – I knew that!" the lavender-eyed girl defended herself with a huff. "But I'm a responsible girl so there's no way I'll let anything happen to my baby."

"It's Sora's too, you know," the blonde corrected her with a smile. "My, Kairi, it's not even born and you're already so over-protective."

Kairi laughed nervously but her friend didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, funny, isn't it?"

"This kid's so lucky to have such great parents," Naminé stated, standing up. "I guess I'll go back to Riku's room. He must be wondering why I'm not back yet." The blue-eyed girl left on those words, waving her friend goodbye.

When Kairi was all alone, she lied back on her bed and heaved a long sigh, a hand resting on her stomach. She closed her eyes to hold back the tears that were swelling up inside them. What kind of mother had a child with a man she wasn't sure to see again? She suddenly laughed when she imagined Sora's reaction if he ever knew she thought that.

_Don't ever say that again! You're a great girl, Kairi, and I'm sure you'll be a good mother so don't let anyone tell you otherwise!_

Yeah, that's what he would say, for sure. That thought alone was enough to bring a smile back to Kairi's lips before she stood up and decided that it had been too long since the last time she cleaned her room up.

sOxOs

"It's too bad you guys can't come. We've even bought your favourite beer, Kairi," Demyx joked during dinner at the cafeteria. Around the group of friends, other students were laughing at jokes or just talking about their day at school and whatnot.

"Come on, you know I hate that thing. It just stinks and it's not even that good," the redhead replied, pouting soon after when the whole table burst out laughing.

"You didn't complain during our last party, though," Riku teased her with his infamous smirk. When Kairi turned a bright shade of red, he began to laugh with everyone.

"You're all so mean! I didn't know what it was at the time and it was because of Sora, in case you all forgot," Kairi complained, folding her arms to her chest and sticking her tongue out at her pretend boyfriend, who gaped at her.

"What? I did nothing!" the brunet retorted with a pout. "Now, you're the one being mean."

"It's so bad to tease cute boys," Demyx said with a knowing smirk. He didn't have to wait for his blue-eyed friend's reaction. Sora down right hated to be called 'cute'. And while said brunet was trying to let everyone know how it was hurting a man's pride to be called that, Riku couldn't help but think that, indeed, his friend was adorable but he'd never tell him that because it would anger the blue-eyed boy. Oh and Naminé would find it suspicious. He shouldn't forget that.

"Stop it, guys, you're embarrassing him," Kairi intervened in an attempt to rescue her poor brunet friend whose cheeks were a bright red by now. Strangely enough, everyone listened to her and changed their current subject of conversation.

"It's funny how they treat me differently now that they know I'm pregnant," Kairi whispered to her pretend boyfriend who simply shrugged his shoulders.

He began eating his chicken salad. "Well, I guess they don't want to upset you in fear of hurting the baby," he replied after he swallowed. "Though all it could do is make yo – Our child moody. I think." The brunet heaved a sigh, glad that no one was listening to what they were saying and, thus, didn't catch his slip.

"Who knows?" the redhead answered, taking a sip of her iced tea. She'd only live drinking the stuff if that was possible.

"Where are you two going Friday night, if you don't mind my asking?" Naminé suddenly asked, choosing to leave her other friends' conversation for now.

"I have an appointment with my doctor," the lavender-eyed girl replied with a bright smile. "And Sora gladly agreed to accompany me."

"Well, he's the father so he's expected to follow you," the blonde said with a confused expression.

"I mean, I told him he could go to the party but he refused categorically and insisted he'd come with me. He really is the over-protective father, after all," Kairi replied with a nervous laugh. Sora ignored the two, convinced it would seem more suspicious if he said anything.

"Hey, Kairi, you'll have to inform me of what the doctor told you, alright?" Hayner asked from his seat next to Naminé.

"Why would she do that? It's not like you're the child's father," the blue-eyed teen said loud enough for the wavy-haired boy to hear. He visibly tensed in his seat.

"Sora, stop being so mean to him. He meant nothing bad," the redhead told him with a smile that clearly said something along the lines of I-think-we-need-to-have-a-little-discussion-in-private.

"Nor did I," the brunet replied as innocently. The two stared at each other and laughed but somehow, the air had grown heavy around them.

"What's with them?" Olette asked Hayner, a concerned look on her face.

"I wonder," her boyfriend replied with his own nervous laugh. Really, it'd freak him out if he didn't know them.

"How are things going with your wedding?" the brunette asked Naminé, trying to change the subject quickly.

The blonde's face lit up. "I've chosen the dress I want to wear and it should be ready by the end of the month if everything goes well. At worst, I'll have to wait until the middle of next month but I'll still get it in time for the wedding so, yeah, it's going smoothly."

"I'm glad for you, Naminé. For you too, of course," Olette told her friend before she turned towards Riku, who was feeling a bit put out since no one seemed to want to talk to him. Was it don't-talk-to-Riku day? Or rather evening?

"Sora's having a kid, Riku's going to have a wife… What about you, Hayner?" Demyx asked, suddenly taking part in the discussion.

"Oh, well, err…" the brown-eyed boy replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think we should wait a bit longer before thinking about that," Olette simply replied with her usual bright smile. She left it at that and kept eating her slice of pizza. While everyone at her table kept talking, she threw a sad glance at Hayner and heaved a sigh. Truth be told, there probably would never be any kid or even wedding. Things were pretty bad with Hayner lately and she didn't know what to do any more. The happy couple everyone envied seemed to have died a long time ago and wouldn't come back anytime soon, if ever. That was so sad.

"I can't wait for Friday night. It'll be awesome!" she heard Riku say excitedly. Naminé laughed quietly and nodded in agreement.

"Thankfully, it's in the dorm so it won't be too troublesome if you end up completely wasted," Demyx replied with a grin. "Now that I think about it, I've never seen you in such a state. That could be funny."

"My, you don't want to know about that," the blonde said with a nervous laugh. "The only and last time I saw him drunk was during a friend's birthday. He spent the whole evening singing a song I didn't even know existed. It was horrible."

"At least I don't hurt anyone when I'm drunk so you should be grateful," the silver-haired boy defended himself with a playful frown. "I'm not like Sora."

"It was an accident! How many times do I have to say it?" the brunet said with a small blush on his cheeks.

"It can't be… You, violent? You must be kidding," Zexion stated with a surprised expression on his face.

"I'd say he was passionate," a red-haired boy declared at he sat at the table.

"Hey, Axel! How come you're here so late?" Demyx asked, smiling. Axel was part of the group since the beginning of college. He'd said something about stupid classmates and decided to hang out with them, which none of them regretted accepting since he could be so fun to hang around with.

"Tell us everything you know," Naminé told the redhead, not letting the blond's question end the subject. It was getting too interesting.

"Oh yeah, right," Axel began, smirking at Sora who felt like the entire world had decided to make fun of him that day. "You all remember that party to celebrate the end of the first year of college?" He continued when everyone nodded. "Well, little Sora here celebrated it a bit too much and that's how a smashed, cute brunet came on to me and forcefully kissed me. He even bit my lip and made it bleed. That wasn't a pretty sight, you can trust me."

Shocked gazes turned towards the embarrassed, blue-eyed boy. Even Riku seemed quite surprised by the news.

"How come we didn't know?" Kairi asked slowly.

"Hell, I want to know too! You told me you bit someone's lip pretty hard but you forgot to mention it was Axel's!" the silver-haired boy added. If only it had been his lip that had been bitten…

"Of course I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want you guys to know but thanks to that jerk, that's not the case any more," the brunet said a bit curtly, staring at Axel with a frown.

"Now, don't take it like that. It's not like you did something horrible," Axel replied with a nervous smile.

"He's right. We were just a bit surprised, nothing more," Kairi added in an attempt to help her red-haired friend who smiled at her. Sora pouted but still shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't care any more. "Anyway, I'm really sorry we can't come to the party. We'll come next time. Promise!"

"Don't worry about it too much, Kairi. It's okay," Demyx told her, a genuine smile on his lips. "As you said, there will be other times."

"And there will always be beer for you in our room, in case you want to drink some one of these days," Zexion said with a serious look that would make anyone wonder if he was actually meaning what he said.

"Aw, you guys are sweet," the pregnant girl replied in a tone of voice that clashed with her frown.

Dinner ended soon after that and everyone had to go back to their dorm. Axel walked Sora and Riku to their room then went to his own. Once the two friends were left alone, an awkward silence filled the place. Both anticipated that moment and they could both feel it.

"So, Err… I'll just go change," Sora said softly, walking towards the bathroom until his friend's voice stopped him.

"Since when does silence make us nervous?" the older asked in a slightly irritated tone of voice. "I'm fed up with this!"

"You could listen to music or –"

"No, that's not what I meant and you know it," Riku retorted, frowning at his friend who was once his **best** friend. "We're acting as if we don't know each other when we grew up together. I can't stand this any more. I want things to go back to that time when we were still best friends."

"Were?" the brunet repeated with a pout. "So, all this time, I was the only one who still considered you my best friend? Since when did you replace me with someone else?"

"I didn't but… Well, you've been quite distant these few years, you know," Riku trailed off, hoping the other would understand.

"People change, Riku. I just don't talk as much any more but that doesn't mean I don't care about you," Sora explained. He sat on his bed, Riku soon doing the same. "Listen, I'm sorry I made you think that way and I want you to know you were, is and will always be my one and only best friend even if I don't act like it."

Both wanted more than friendship but thought that it was way better than being enemies. So what if Sora had a child? So what if Riku would soon be married to Naminé? They'd still be best friends and get over it. If they were together, they could do it. At least they hoped so.

sOxOs

The rest of the week passed quickly. Way too quickly for Kairi who apprehended her appointment with her doctor. Sora kept telling her that everything was alright and that she had nothing to worry about. So did all of her other friends. It was in times like these she wished she was loaded and could thank them all properly with tons of gifts. But somehow, she got the idea that it would make them upset. And she was quite right.

"That's stupid. Why would we want gifts?" Olette replied to her redhead friend's question. There were only the girls that evening at the cafeteria. The boys were watching a baseball match on TV and just ditched them. But really, only Olette and Naminé were complaining about that.

"But you guys are always so supportive. It feels like a bad joke to only say 'thank you'," Kairi insisted. Naminé just shook her head with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Friends do not help one another to have gifts. They do it because they want to. No gifts needed. Period," the brunette made known with a quick nod to add emphasis to her words. Kairi sighed, now knowing for sure that she shouldn't bring up the subject again. "Anyway, what's with men and sports? I'm so pissed Hayner ditched me for some stupid match!"

"So that's why you were so mad all this time," the blonde realized, blinking at the girl. "You shouldn't take it out on Kairi. She can't help it if they like TV more than us." A shrug ensued.

"Really, is that so bad?" the redhead asked, confused. "I think it's necessary to put distance in a couple from time to time. You know that saying. Absence makes the heart grow fonder," she said wisely with a bright smile on her lips but her statement was met with utter silence. "What? Don't you agree?"

"Of course not!" Olette exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. "Aren't you angry at Sora for leaving you alone like that? You're pregnant! He should constantly stay by your side."

"Don't bring him into this. He has the right to spend time with his friends since he's not m–" she began but quickly corrected herself before the truth slipped out. "Since he's not a father yet."

"But still! He -" the brunette tried to insist.

"Just shut up already!" Kairi exclaimed. A heavy silence hovered over their table and she had a shocked expression on her face, just like her two other friends. "Hormones," she simply stated.

"A – Alright, let's change the subject, okay?" Naminé quickly added with a shaky laugh. "What do you plan on doing this week-end? I heard the students in our college following a medicine course are holding a few events in town. It could be interesting, don't you think?"

"The medicine students? How did you know about that? Those snobs don't dare getting out of their dorm in fear of becoming as stupid as us. Well, that's what they're probably thinking," Olette replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Axel is one of them," Naminé simply stated as he grabbed her glass of peach iced tea. She took a few sips before she put the glass on the table. "Truth is he doesn't want to be left alone with them so he practically begged me to come and keep him company."

"Axel begged you?" Kairi asked, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. She blinked a few time and regained her composure after a small, nervous cough. "Why do I always miss the best things?"

"Because you don't have a life any more now that you'll be a parent," the brunette teased as she gently elbowed her redhead friend. "Seriously, I'd have loved to see that too."

"So, will you come with me? I won't be at ease with all those brains around me," the blonde asked shyly, looking at her hands on her lap. She never considered herself smart and being with people who purposefully made you feel like a retard didn't help at all.

"As long as you promise not to spend money to thank us, then yeah, I'm going too," Olette replied with her usual soft smile. Kairi blushed at the remark but simply nodded in agreement. After blowing up like she did, it didn't feel right to talk back.

"Okay, it's settled then!" Naminé exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands once.

"By the way, why did you want to go to this thing, except for helping Axel?" the lavender-eyed girl asked curiously with a slight tilt of her head to the side. A few strands of hair fell before her eyes and she quickly tucked them behind her ears.

"I heard there will be pictures of contortionists as well as explanations as to how they can bend so easily. I plan on doing a project on this next semester so I can't miss it," the blonde told them. That explained why a fine arts student wanted to see something done by the medicine ones.

"Well, I guess that will be quite interesting," Kairi offered with a shrug.

What none of them knew was that the party on Friday night would be way more interesting than anything else that would happen in the few weeks that would follow.

oooOOOooo


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : Kingdom Hearts and its characters do not belong to me.

_I can't believe it took me so long to update. Major laziness, the heat, video games and going to my sister's place are the main causes of such a late update. By the way, my sister and I __went to the cinema and saw Wall-E. Man, that was just so cute and scary in a way. I loved it. \o/ (I'm a sucker for Disney and Pixar movies.) So, yeah, that was very nice. D Hmm, I think I've said what I needed to say. Thanks a bunch for your reviews and I hope you'll like this chapter, even though I have a feeling it isn't all that great. Sorry if that's the case. As usual, excuse me for the errors._

oooOOOooo

Friday night came before anyone could realize it. It was a wonder how time could pass so quickly when they were all bored out of their minds. Still, the awaited – feared for some of the friends - evening was there and they couldn't escape it. Kairi had spent the whole day worrying and didn't say a word while Sora did his best to comfort her but to no avail. Their other friends tried to say a few words to help her but when it was evident she wasn't listening, they eventually gave up and didn't think about it. They knew she'd come back and laugh at how nervous she was when, really, there was no need to be this anxious.

When the redhead and her brunet boyfriend left the dorms, the others met in Demyx and Zexion's room for the party. Hayner and Olette decided to join them, which made everyone pretty happy even if the two seemed quite distant.

"You two got in a fight?" Axel asked curiously, tilting his head to the side when he noticed the frowns on the couple's faces. They both shook their heads but didn't manage to convince anyone so they just chose to drop the subject for now.

"What are we going to do? Sit here and drink until we're too smashed to stay awake?" Riku asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Of course not, silly," Demyx replied. He sat on the floor and placed two six-packs of beer in front of him. When no one moved, he motioned them to do the same, which everyone did with curious glances thrown towards him. "Alright, now that everyone's ready, I propose we play a little game that I'm sure everyone will love."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Axel whispered to Riku, who laughed quietly.

"Because it's natural when Demyx's concerned," the silver-haired boy replied with a shrug.

"I'll let Zexion explain the rules. He made most of them and since I don't remember most of them, it's better that I listen too," the blond declared, patting the slate-haired boy on the back.

Zexion sighed but explained nevertheless. "We've all been friends for a while now so this shouldn't be too hard," he began. "Each of us will ask the others to say something concerning them and if someone gets a wrong answer, they have to take a sip of their drink. We'll keep this game going until only one person can still think straight."

"Maybe Riku shouldn't play. I don't really want to hear him sing some horrible song or something," the redhead teased, which earned him a playful hit on the shoulder from said boy.

"This sounds fun. This way, we'll all learn new things about everyone," Naminé said with a warm smile. If there was something she liked better than drawing, it was getting to know her friends better, even though she believed she already knew a bunch of things about them.

"I'd like to know about what we're supposed to ask everyone else," Hayner asked with a small frown on his face, clearly confused.

"I'll begin so that you all know what to do when your turn comes," Zexion offered with a small nod. He took a can of beer and put it in front of him. He chose to not open it yet, in case he'd only get right answers. He didn't particularly felt like drinking that day anyway. "Name a book I've already read," he stated, looking at everyone with a knowing smile.

"You bastard," Riku muttered as he put a can before him too. Unlike Zexion, he opened it, knowing full well that he'd have to take a sip as soon as his turn to give an answer came. Naminé felt courageous and decided to go first. She took her drink in her hands and began to fiddle with it.

"Let's see," she wondered out loud, carefully choosing her answer. "I think there was Stronger Mind," she offered with a small smile, hoping she didn't make a mistake. When Zexion nodded in agreement, her smile broadened. It was now Hayner's turn to answer.

"Erm, what was that title… I think it was The Barley Righteous Man?" the blond offered. He winced when the slate-haired boy frowned.

"It's The Barely Outrageous Man," he corrected before he pointed at Hayner's drink. The younger took a sip without saying another word.

"Seriously, who would want to read such boring books? Just hearing their titles makes me sleepy," Axel stated with a pout.

"Obviously, I'm one of the few people who read them," Zexion replied with a smug expression. "I like books that don't usually attract people's attention."

"That much we could tell," the aquamarine-eyed teen retorted. He turned his head towards Olette who was next.

"Gossips Never Die," she said so confidently that none of them expected her answer to be wrong. And it wasn't.

"Damn, it's already my turn," Axel whined as he scratched the back of his head. He racked his brains for a while before he eventually offered: "Backwards' Better?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about that one," Zexion admitted with raised eyebrows. "Okay, your turn, Riku."

"Please, don't remind me," he replied with a small frown. Really, it was only a game. He shouldn't be so grumpy about it. "Can't Get Enough of You?"

"Oh, I loved that one!" Demyx exclaimed with a bright smile. "Too bad Zexion never wanted to give it a try," the blond told his younger friend proudly. With a sigh, the silver-haired boy took a swig of his can.

"That only leaves me," the blond stated, pointing at himself.

"It shouldn't be too hard for you since you guys are fuc-" Axel began with a grin, only to be interrupted when Olette put her hand on his mouth, her cheeks turning a bright red.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Demyx made known, scowling. He didn't like it when people cursed. He himself rarely did. "Fatality."

"Good. It's your turn to ask something, Naminé," the slate-haired boy said, gently nudging said girl who giggled at the ticklish sensation in her side.

"Alright. Name something I don't like, be it food or anything else," she said, looking at everyone.

"That's too easy," Hayner said with a wide smile. This time, he was sure he'd be right. "You don't like anything that's pink."

"Even though there are a few exceptions, I have to admit it's true," the blonde replied with a smile. She then turned her head towards Olette.

"You don't like it when people make fun of others. I think that's one of the things you dislike the most," the brunette said. The blonde nodded in agreement.

"Cute, little Naminé doesn't like girls flirting with Riku," Axel stated, smirking when his blonde friend blushed in embarrassment but nodded anyway. Who would like to see people coming on to their lovers?

"That was low, Axel," Riku told his friend with a sigh. "You don't like creamy desserts."

"You don't like it when people look at your unfinished drawings," Demyx added cheerfully, knowing it to be true since he'd learned that first-hand. And the game went on and the more time passed, the more Riku learned he actually didn't know as much about his friends as he'd thought…

sOxOs

It was a few minutes past eighteen when Sora and Kairi made it to the hospital. When the redhead saw the small crowd in the waiting room, she was glad she had an appointment with one of the doctors. The two friends sat on chairs and waited. The ticking of a clock in a corner of the room was the only sound they could hear and when it usually didn't bother either of them much, it was down right annoying this time.

"This guy sure likes to take his time," Sora commented as he crossed his arms, showing how annoyed he actually was. And bored.

"We just arrived. You can't expect him to know we're here. Besides, there could be someone he's seeing right now. Just wait," Kairi cooed as if talking to a child, which wasn't that far from the truth when she thought about it.

So, the two waited and a few minutes later, the door to the office opened and revealed a woman and her child. The little boy's nose was runny and his eyes puffy but somehow, he still managed to look fine; as fine as a sick child could.

"Kairi Nishimoto?" a tall, robust-looking man asked as he held the door open, his hand still on the doorknob. The redhead immediately stood up and entered inside the office, Sora following close behind. Sora didn't waste time exploring the room and headed for a nearby chair. He sat next to Kairi and waited for the man to sit as well.

"Alright, so if I remember correctly, you're here for a check on your baby, right?" the tall man asked after a short moment of silence during which his eyes quickly glanced through a few documents he was holding in his right hand. "Do you know how old it is?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's three, maybe four weeks old," the redhead answered uneasily. She felt a hand on top of hers then and realized it was Sora's. He gave it a gentle squeeze and even if it didn't make her less nervous, it still felt good to know she wasn't alone in this.

"It's alright, most women aren't sure when their pregnancy began either," Doctor Lexaeus told her in a soft tone of voice. He was even smiling a little if one paid enough attention. "This question might seem strange, even rude to you but I still have to ask it since you're pretty young," the man began, his expression completely serious at that moment. "Do you want to keep it?"

He wasn't one bit surprised when Kairi's eyes widened. "Of course I want to!" she exclaimed. "There's no way I'd kill it," she whispered as her hand came to rest on her stomach in a protective manner. The doctor only nodded in understanding.

"Alright." the man simply replied.

"I have one question. Are pregnancy test kits reliable? I've done one but I'd like to have blood tests done. I need to be absolutely sure," the redhead replied.

"It depends on what kit you bought and, of course, if you followed the instructions properly. If you did, then there shouldn't be any mistake," the man replied with a small shrug. He then took a sheet of paper and began scribbling on it. "I'm afraid I can't help you that much. The doctor who was supposed to see you had an emergency and couldn't come so he asked me to give you another appointment. But before that, I'll need to take a blood sample," Doctor Lexaeus explained.

"Thanks a lot, Doctor," the girl said as she stood when Lexaeus was done. They shook hands and then the two friends left.

The brunet heaved a sigh when they eventually left the building, noticing the same people were still waiting in the waiting room. He sincerely hoped they were more patient than him.

"So, I'll have to go to the hospital again. Gosh, that doesn't make me feel any better," Kairi muttered with a frown on her face.

"I'll go with you," Sora offered, turning his head towards his friend to give her a genuine smile. It disappeared soon, though, when she shook her head no.

"I'll be okay," the redhead replied softly. "You know, I've been thinking about this all day and I think it's unfair to make you take responsibility for what I've done. I don't regret having this child one bit, don't get me wrong, but I don't want you to go through this when you're not even involved. At least, not directly."

"I don't mind at all, you should know that," the brunet retorted, arching his eyebrows. His expression softened when Kairi gave him a small, almost sad smile.

"But I do," she whispered loud enough for Sora to hear. He didn't really know how to reply to that, knowing anything he'd say wouldn't make her change her mind. That's how the rest of their walk to the dorms remained silent until they got into their rooms.

sOxOs

The party in Demyx and Zexion's room was pretty much over. Almost everyone had gone back to their own rooms except for a silver-haired boy who was still sitting on the ground and staring at his empty can of beer with what looked to be sadness. There were still a few cans left but the older boys thought it would be better to not give any to Riku. Overall, the party had been great. They had fun, teased each other in a friendly way and did learn a lot about their friends, like how Axel used to hate taking a bath when he was a child especially if there were bubbles. He still hated those damn, cute things to no end. It was even a wonder why he called them 'cute' when he didn't like them all that much. And since when were bubbles 'cute'? Those were Demyx's thoughts before a long sigh interrupted his train of thought.

"I don't want to go back," Riku whispered as he lowered his head. He stared at the ground and bit his lip.

"We'll throw another party soon so don't be so sad," the blond comforted him with a pat on the shoulder. To his surprise, he saw tears rolling down his friend's cheeks. "Oh, so you're that kind of drunk, after all."

But Riku didn't hear him. "He'll be there and I don't want to be left alone with him any more. It hurts too much," he continued, his rant interesting the two more and more. "I've always had that small hope than maybe he'd look at me someday but now, it's over, I know it. He'll never leave her now that she's pregnant." And sobs ensued.

Though the sight disturbed the lovers a great deal, it was nothing compared to their states of mind after what they'd just heard. They gaped at each other for a short moment before Zexion eventually regained his composure.

"So, you were talking about Sora?" the slate-haired boy asked even though he already knew the answer to his question.

"Of course! Do I have that many friends whose girlfriends are pregnant? Or is it that you guys are hiding something from me?" Riku replied, wiping his tears away.

"Now, you're being ridiculous," Zexion retorted with a scowl on his face.

"But what about Naminé?" the blond asked, interrupting his friends' bickering. Aquamarine eyes met his gaze and he almost regretted he ever asked. Almost.

"I don't want to make her sad," Riku admitted with a shrug as if it were nothing.

"Dude, you guys are going to marry. It's something serious," Demyx told him with a shocked expression. "You don't get engaged to someone you don't even love!" Silence met his statement and during that small moment, he made a decision. "You have to tell her the truth. You or someone else has to before it's too late."

"Demyx!" Zexion hissed, getting to his feet to sit again, this time with his friends on the floor. "You can't do that! It's his problem and I don't think it would be wise to interfere. He'll tell her himself, period. We can't tell a soul about what he just told us."

"Does it look like he'll ever tell her? They've been dating for about three years now," the blond told his boyfriend with a frown. They didn't say anything for a while and when they eventually looked at Riku, the youngest had fallen asleep.

"Maybe he didn't even mean what he just said. He's drunk, Dem," the slate-haired boy stated with a shrug. "Let's just go to sleep, okay? I'm tired and getting moody and I don't want to take it out on you."

"Did anyone ever tell you you're like a child sometimes?" Demyx asked with a small smile playing on his lips. Really, there were lots of times when Zexion reminded him of a kid. Like how he'd get grumpy whenever he was hungry or tired. Or how he'd do anything in his power to get what he wanted. He was just a big, spoiled child. _His_ spoiled child.

"Yeah. You did," the other replied, already climbing in his bed.

The blond decided it was best to sleep for now. They'd just have a talk with Riku the next day.

sOxOs

When Sora got back to his dorm, he was surprised, to say the least, when he didn't find Riku already asleep in his bed. In fact, no one was in the room. So the brunet just supposed his friend was still at the party and went to sleep. He began to be really worried when morning came and Riku still wasn't back. The quickest way to find out where his friend could be was to ask Demyx, who was supposedly the last one who had seen the silver-haired boy.

The brunet rushed out of his room then towards the blond's and knocked on the door, panting heavily. When a wary Zexion opened the door and looked at him strangely, Sora knew something was wrong.

"What are you doing here so early, Sora?" the slate-haired boy asked, discreetly warning his friends of the blue-eyed boy's presence. The two shifted nervously and Riku tried his best to look as casual as he could.

"Someone didn't go back to their room so I was a bit worried," the brunet replied a bit curtly, his tone of voice making the silver-haired boy cringe just a bit.

"Come on, Sora, we're all living in the same building. Nothing could happen to us," Demyx intervened with a small smile. "Besides, Riku's a though boy so you don't have to worry about him."

"Yeah, I know but I just can't help it. Anyway, next time you decide to sleep in someone else's room, Riku, warn me so that I don't worry for nothing," the blue-eyed boy said, crossing his arms. He blinked a few times when he realized he sounded like his mother but kept it to himself. No one needed to know that. "Anyway, I'll be at the cafeteria with Kairi so if you need anything, just come find me, okay?"

"Okay," Riku answered with a quick nod. "Have fun," he added with a smirk that made it difficult for Sora to fight off the blush that was about to appear. The brunet simply nodded and left.

"Man, that was close," Demyx sighed, rubbing the back of his head. The other boys silently agreed. "So, what will you do, Riku?"

"What do you mean?" the aquamarine-eyed boy asked, arching an eyebrow. When the only answer he got was a pout, he heaved a long sigh and stared at the floor. "Things will just stay the same. It's best this way."

"Riku, you-" the blond began, only to be interrupted by his boyfriend who put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head slowly.

"Stop interfering, Dem. You did what you could. Now, it's up to him to break up with Naminé or not," Zexion told him softly before he looked at the youngest. "The last thing I'll tell you is that I think you're wrong but I won't make you do something you don't want to do."

Riku didn't reply and just stood. He left the room and returned to his own. He felt sticky with sweat and felt the urge to take a good, long shower. He was so lost in his thoughts about what had happened in the last few hours that he didn't even realized it when he passed Naminé.

sOxOs

The week-end ended soon and another week began, much to Sora's disappointment. He didn't get a chance to finish his paper for his last class and already knew the teacher would give him a nice speech about how lazy students didn't go far in life. But it seemed like his lucky star was on his side that day and made the teacher leave the college earlier for unknown reasons. The brunet made sure to finish his essay that evening and to begin the few others he had to write. But not without Riku's help, of course.

"How come I have to do this with you?" the silver-haired boy asked with a sigh. He leaned his elbow on his bent knee and rested his chin in the palm of his hand, looking bored. They were both sitting on the brunet's bed, facing each other, with books occupying any empty spaces. Riku always wondered how their room could be so tidy when his best friend was obviously messy. He guessed he just didn't want to be a nuisance.

"Because you're my friend and friends help each other," the younger replied, not looking up from his sheet of paper on which words were scribbled and sometimes crossed out. He was chewing his pencil and supposedly thinking hard.

"Then, how come you don't help me more often?" the older asked with a raised eyebrow.

The younger instantly lifted his head up and looked at him with a shocked expression. "You just didn't mean that. What about that time when you couldn't get your sword and I got it for you? And that time when your mother didn't want to give you ice cream and I had to come late at night so that you could have some without her knowing it?"

"We were children, Sora. I'd like to know what you did recently that helped me," the older asked, now curious as to what his friend had to reply to that. It wasn't like he minded helping Sora all the time and not get help in return but he was currently bored and teasing the brunet was far more amusing than working on a stupid essay.

"Well…" the blue-eyed boy began, tapping his chin with his index finger as he raked his brains. "Oh, I helped you get together with Naminé!" he exclaimed proudly.

"_Like that helped me at all,_" the other thought with an audible grunt. "You got me on that one," he quickly said, noticing the strange look Sora was sending him, most likely confused by Riku's reaction.

"You can't be the best at everything, Riku," the brunet teased before he began to work once again, proud that he managed to have the last word. At least, he thought he did. "Let's get back to work! Now's not the time to slack off."

"Man, that's your homework," the older muttered but he still caught a pen and began scribbling on a sheet of paper. "You better buy me a smoothie when we're done with that damn essay."

"Roger," the other replied with a smirk. He just knew the perfect place to get them and he was sure Riku was thinking about the same shop.

sOxOs

While Sora and Riku's relationship seemed to have gotten back to what it used to be, two other people couldn't say the same about themselves. Naminé and Kairi were cleaning their room up after the blonde decided she'd finish a few of her projects and spread chaos into the small room. Paint, eraser crumbs and charcoal powder were on the ground and the desk she worked on. She was talented but so messy. So, after the redhead came back from town and saw the damage her friend had caused, she decided they'd clean everything together. And while they were busy doing this, Olette had barged into their room, crying her eyes out. It took her a quite long time to calm down and explain what was happening that made her so upset. Somehow, Kairi wasn't that surprised when it involved Hayner but she showed no sign of it and pretended to be as shocked as her blonde roommate.

"How come you guys got in a fight?" Naminé asked timidly, not knowing what else she could say. It was the first time she'd seen Olette in such a state.

"He's been so distant lately so I asked him what was wrong. And just as usual, he got all mad at me for asking him and we ended up yelling at each other and… And he just broke up with me," the brunette informed her friends, sobbing softly. "That's when he told me everything. He told me how he didn't like me as much any more and had been seeing another girl for a few weeks now. I got so pissed I slapped him and stormed off. God, if I ever find out who the bitch is, I'll rip her eyes out and feed them to her," she seethed as the handkerchief the blonde had given her was being twisted in her hands.

At this, Kairi gulped and unconsciously rubbed her eyes. What would the brunette say if she found out the girl Hayner had been seeing was pregnant? She truly didn't want to know and hoped she'd never discover it.

"What are you going to do?" the blonde asked after a moment of silence that only the girl's sobs broke from time to time. Hearing this, Olette stared at the floor and didn't say anything for a long while, until she looked up and glared at the wall before her with a determined expression.

"I'm leaving," she stated, standing up.

"Wha- What?! But –" Kairi began, alarmed.

"I can't stand to be near that jerk any more. I'm leaving this town. It'll be easier to forget about everything," the girl continued, not paying the redhead any attention.

"But what about us? Olette, you can't possibly leave like that! What about your studies? Are you just going to drop them?" Naminé asked as she shot to her feet to stand before Olette and put her hands on her shoulders. She withdrew them quickly when she felt her friend shake lightly and saw fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry but I – I can't stand this any longer. I have to leave," the brunette replied, rubbing her cheeks.

None of them said anything and the room went quiet once more. Eventually, Olette left and this time, the blonde didn't try to stop her. Deep inside, she felt that her friend needed to separate herself from everyone else before she began to feel better, so she let her leave.

A few days later, Olette was gone without even saying goodbye to her friends but no one blamed her for it. The last proof of the brunette's presence in the dormitory was the bruise Kairi had gotten on her cheek when her former friend had left. No one knew what had happened between the two girls, except for Hayner and Sora. It seemed like the redhead couldn't bear the guilt that had been eating away at her any more.

Things wouldn't have been so bad had they been left at that.

"Why the hell did you tell her?!" Hayner exclaimed angrily, glaring at the redhead before him. They had left the dormitory and decided to have a talk in the small park near the buildings, where no one could hear them.

"Because she's my friend, that's why! She deserved to know the truth!" the girl replied, gripping at the hem of her shirt nervously.

"And what good did it do? You just made her sadder than she already was," the blond snapped as he looked to the side, folding his arms across his chest. "Besides, you didn't even do that for her. You just didn't want to feel guilty any longer, so you told her everything to make yourself feel better."

"No, I…" Kairi began, only to heave an annoyed sigh. "I'll admit that's part of the reason why I told her I was the one you were seeing, but that only comes second. I'm not the kind of person who puts herself before the others."

"Really? It didn't seem like it that afternoon, when we slep-" the blond began, only to be interrupted by an angry shout right behind him. He found himself falling head first to the ground after a rather strong hit in his back. When Hayner sat up to glower at his attacker, he blinked a few times when he realized it was Sora. "What the hell's wrong with you?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Shut up, you bastard!" the brunet yelled just as furiously. "How dare you talk to her like that when what's happening is obviously your fault?!"

Now, the blond was seriously pissed.

"You don't know anything. Stay out of this, Sora," he said lowly as he stood up. He brushed his pants to remove the few blades of grass and the mud on it.

"Hell no. I know more than you think," the blue-eyed boy stated. "Like how you just used Kairi when Olette wasn't too willing to do as you pleased."

"Now, you've just crossed the line!"

The redhead could only look everywhere and hope someone would come and stop the fighting boys. Why did things turn so badly whenever she was around?

"Stop it!" she tried to tell them but neither listened and just continued to throw punches at each other's faces.

The girl's prayers seemed to be heard when she saw a flash of silver hair in the distance. She ran as fast as she could towards Riku and realized in mid-run that he was with Axel.

"Guys! You have to stop them, please!" she called and when she got the boys' attention, she pointed towards the fight that was still raging a few metres away. They didn't need to be told twice and ran towards Sora and Hayner, quickly telling Kairi to stay right where she was.

Axel grabbed Hayner, who was straddling the brunet and punching him as hard as he could, and yanked him to get him off the injured boy while Riku stayed by his friend's side and asked him if he was okay. By the looks of it, Hayner was way stronger.

"You dumbass, she's the one using us!" the blond shouted as he tried to break free but the redhead had a firm grip on him and made sure to not let go. "She's even using you! What kind of friend would do that? Huh?"

"I was the one who offered to help her after you toyed with her and left her to take care of the mess you left behind you! Tch, seriously, I don't know what she found so attractive about a jerk like you," the brunet muttered as he wiped the blood on his chin.

"At least I don't fight like a girl," the other snapped with a smirk as he tried, once again, to free himself but to no avail.

"How about you go back to your room and cool off?" Axel suddenly stated, effectively ending the argument. "It's evident you guys aren't thinking straight and need some alone time to sort things out."

He eventually let go of Hayner who stalked off with a grunt and a last glare sent towards the brunet who didn't even bother to look in his direction. The blue-eyed boy got to his feet and brushed a hand against his sore jaw, sure that it was badly bruised but it was nothing he couldn't stand.

"Man, I have to agree with him on the fact that you don't know how to throw a good punch," the silver-haired boy teased, hoping it would lighten up the mood.

"How's Kairi?" Sora asked, ignoring his friend's comment.

"She's fine but you guys really scared her," Axel made known with a scowl on his face.

"It was stupid to fight like that but I couldn't help it. If only you had heard the horrible things he told her! It made me so mad," the younger explained as the three of them joined Kairi, who was waiting for their return where she had found the two older boys.

When she saw Sora, she rushed to his side and held him close to her, whispering how glad she was that he was okay. She then complained about how it was a shame that his cute face was bruised and made it a point to clean his wounds herself until Riku stepped in and told her to go back to her room and take some rest. It was clear she was shaken up. After all, she had never reacted well to fights, especially when they involved someone she knew. So, Kairi did as she was told as left. When it was only Riku and Sora in their room, the older boy eventually asked what had happened.

"I can't tell you everything without Kairi's consent. All I'll say is that Hayner was being a jerk," was the only reply the aquamarine-eyed boy got.

"Alright," Riku said with a small sigh. He really didn't like it when Sora hid things from him but he supposed it should've been serious if his best friend went as far as to fight against Hayner. Heck, Sora never fought. As he had told Riku one day, it was against his policies. "You should be thankful I have a first-aid kit in our room. It should be enough to treat your wounds."

"They're just bruises, Riku. They'll be gone in a few days, nothing to worry about," the younger sighed as he was led to the older's bed to sit, which he did reluctantly.

"Don't talk back to me, young man. I know what I'm doing," Riku said as he sat next to his childhood friend and began applying a cool ointment on his bruises. The younger sighed again, this time in contentment, and let the other rub the ointment in. "You know you guys will eventually have to explain everything to us, right?" the silver-haired boy asked. He didn't need to say anything else to make the younger understand the meaning of his question.

Sora slowly opened his eyes and almost jumped at how close Riku's face was to his own. The brunet heaved a sigh and turned his head to the left, hoping he wasn't blushing too hard. The last thing he wanted was his friend asking him questions.

"Yeah, I know," he eventually replied in a soft tone of voice. "But I just can't tell you without Kairi's consent."

That made the silver-haired boy frown. What could be so important that Sora couldn't even tell his best friend? He figured it had something to do with Kairi, seeing as the brunet was fighting against Hayner because of something the latter had told the girl. But since the blue-eyed boy wasn't one to take friendship lightly, Riku decided to trust him on that and nodded in agreement, which seemed to make the younger relieved.

Little did Riku know it was just the beginning of his problems.

oooOOOooo


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : Kingdom hearts and its characters do not belong to me.

_As usual, forgive me for the mistakes you'll probably find while reading. _

oooOOOooo

That evening, Kairi decided it would be best to tell the truth to her friends so she explained everything, from when she started to have feelings for Hayner to the day he made moves on her and eventually got what he wanted. Of course, they were all shocked but not for the same reasons.

"So, basically, you both betrayed Olette," Axel stated after Kairi had told the whole story. He crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow, showing how much he disapproved of both the girl's and Hayner's behaviours.

"Axel!" Sora exclaimed, turning his head towards said boy with a frown on his face. "It wasn't her fault, okay? She just -"

"Willingly let him have sex with her, knowing full well he was still going out with Olette," the green-eyed redhead finished for his younger friend who, at this point, was fuming.

"He's right, Sora. I should have been more responsible," Kairi stated, her gaze not meeting the others'.

"Well, what's done is done," Axel added, shrugging his shoulders. A heavy silence followed his statement and none of the friends dared say a word, until Kairi spoke again.

"Are you guys mad at me?" she dared, biting her bottom lip nervously. She felt a hand on her shoulder and when she turned her head, she noticed it was Naminé's.

"I guess I can't fully understand but somehow, I know what you did was for the best," the blonde comforted Kairi, giving the lavender-eyed girl her warmest smile.

"Well, in the end, Sora and you aren't really going out, right?" Riku asked. Luckily for him, no one noticed how hopeful he truly was when he asked the question.

"No, we aren't," the brunet replied with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything, Riku," he apologized, scratching the back of his head.

"It's okay," the silver-haired boy replied with a small smile.

"But really, Sora, you shouldn't go and fight with guys who are stronger than you. Look at what that brute did to that cute face of yours! You look like a… Like," Axel began, searching for the right word. "I'd say Quasimodo but even with that swollen eye, you look way cuter than him."

"Is that a compliment?" the brunet asked, arching an eyebrow while the others were trying to hide their laughter, which failed completely when Riku snorted loudly and laughed, soon followed by everyone.

"Man, you really should think twice before you try to say something nice, Axel," Riku managed to say between snickers, wiping away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes as he talked.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as good as you when it comes to complimenting the ladies," the redhead retorted with a fake frown. He was hit upside the head and didn't understand why until he realized what he just said.

"Dammit, I'm not a girl, you doofus!" Sora exclaimed, biting his lip so that he himself didn't start laughing. Axel could be such an idiot sometimes and not even know it.

Kairi watched as her friends had fun and smiled genuinely. Never had she thought things would go so well after they all learned about the truth. She had imagined them ditching her, calling her bad names even and just forget about her as if she was never there in the first place. She was so lucky to have them all. There was no way she'd risk losing their friendship for a second time and if that meant forgetting about Hayner, then she'd do it. After the way he had talked to her, even if she thought he was right about most of the things he said, it didn't seem so hard.

sOxOs

The next day was awkward, to say the least. Sora had most of his classes with Hayner and the blond didn't even glance at him. Well, that wasn't so surprising. They did fight, after all. And to make things worse, there were girls sitting next to the blue-eyed boy who spent the majority of the lesson talking about one-night stands and how it was disgusting to sleep with a complete stranger.

But the brunet's uneasiness was nothing compared to Riku's since he wasn't directly concerned. It was during times like this one that the silver-haired boy wished Demyx didn't have classes with him. The blond kept poking at his friend's arm to get his attention but it only made Riku more annoyed with each passing second. How he wished he could rip that damn finger and eventually listen in peace.

"Hey, you listening, pal?" Demyx insisted, no deterred by his friend's lack of attention. "Did you talk to Naminé?"

"Listen, Demyx, I don't want to talk about this, okay? Leave me alone," the younger muttered, taking notes from time to time.

"But you guys will marry really soon! The sooner you tell her everything, the better. Plus, Sora is free now so there's nothing to stop you." Wasn't Demyx growing tired of saying the same things over and over? It seemed like that wasn't the case, at least from Riku's point of view.

"Yeah, and make him think I'm just using him as a rebound?"

"That's exactly -" the blond began, smiling broadly, only to stop talking. "Oh."

"Do you get it now?"

"I still don't get why you're not letting Naminé know that –"

That was too much to bear for the poor aquamarine-eyed boy. "Just leave me alone, okay?! I know what I'm doing!" the younger snapped. He mumbled under his breath before he looked at the teacher and kept writing in his notebook.

Demyx just watched his friend with a sad expression on his face before he began drawing doodles in his own notebook. It wasn't like the class was so difficult anyway. But dropping the subject now wasn't in his mind at all.

"Y' know, I'm just saying this because I'm worried about you," the blond kept trying.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine the way it is so forget anything I said," the other replied. He glanced at his watch and noticed there were still a few minutes left before class ended. Now, that was good to know.

"Are you sure? Sora's single now, so you should hurry up and tell him how you feel before someone snatches him from you," Demyx advised his friend, who turned his head to look at him, frowning. "He's really cute so I doubt he'll stay single for too long. Maybe you shouldn't take things so lightly and talk to him."

"The way you say this, it seems like you know something that I don't," the aquamarine-eyed boy stated, indirectly ordering the blond to tell him what was going on.

"Well…"

sOxOs

"Do you think it'll be a boy?"

"How should I know?"

"I like 'Josh'. It sounds kind of cool. Or maybe 'Aaron'?"

Sora heaved a long sigh but he couldn't help but smile at his friend's enthusiasm. Kairi was so ecstatic about her baby that it seemed like it could be contagious. Heck, he himself felt a bit annoyed but slowly, he began to find this amusing. Maybe it really was contagious…

"Sora? Are you listening?" the redhead asked when she noticed the brunet had been completely silent for a few minutes.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" the blue-eyed boy apologized with a sheepish smile.

"I was asking you what kind of girl names you like."

"Weren't you talking about boy names before?" Sora asked, confused.

"Since I don't know what gender my baby is yet, I should think of both girl and boy names," Kairi stated as if it were obvious.

"But parents usually wait until they know about their child's gender before they think of a name, don't they?"

Silence met his statement.

"So? Do you have any ideas?"

The brunet sighed. "Not yet but I'll tell you when I get some," he eventually replied. The truth was he didn't really want to try to help her. Not that he was lazy but he felt it wasn't really his place to choose a name for the child. It was just to help her though. Maybe he really was lazy after all.

Now, he wanted to see Riku and ask for his opinion on the matter. He could already picture the silver-haired boy laughing his ass off because of the stupidity of it all. Or maybe he would only tell him he shouldn't be so anxious about such a trivial matter. He was only helping, nothing more.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm only helping a friend," he whispered, staring at his room's ceiling. He didn't know how much time had passed since he came back to the dorm and lay in bed but it must have been pretty late since Riku was also in the room.

"Helping who with what?" the aquamarine-eyed boy asked, arching a curious eyebrow as he turned around in his chair to look at the younger. He was beginning to wonder why his friend hadn't said a single work since he came back from class and now that Sora decided to clearly show he wasn't dead, what he was saying didn't make sense to him.

"Oh, you're here? Man, it must be pretty late, then," the spiky-haired teen answered, sitting up and searching for his alarm-clock, which read ten past eighteen.

"What's wrong with you?" Riku asked, now a bit worried. He stood up and walked towards his best friend's bed. "It's not like you to be that out of it."

"You'll say it's just stupid," the younger muttered, pouting cutely even though it wasn't intended. That is, for it to look cute.

"Of course I won't. Have I ever told you something like that?"

"Well, there was this time when we were at the beach and I was afraid of that jellyfish. You made fun of me and called me stupid. Then, you also said that when I admitted I didn't know how to make babies when we were in middle school. And there was also-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," the older cut him off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I won't make any mean comments this time, promise."

"Don't take it so seriously, I was just teasing you," the brunet told him with a small grin, not knowing what the older boy's reaction would be but it seemed like he didn't really care. Riku just kept staring at him, waiting for his explanation.

Sora heaved a soft sigh. "Kairi and I were talking during class, today. She was thinking about what name to give her baby and she wanted me to help her."

Riku waited for the younger to continue but when the latter remained silent for a while, he figured that was all he had to say. The silver-haired boy arched an eyebrow.

"And… That is what's bothering you so much?"

"I told you it was stupid," the brunet muttered as he lied down and rolled to his side, avoiding the taller boy's gaze.

Riku heaved a soft sigh and lay beside his friend, looking at the ceiling. He could see a few spider web cobs here and there. Maybe it really was time to clean up their room.

"Listen, I think I can understand how you're feeling about this," the taller began, still not meeting the other's gaze. It wasn't like he could since Sora had his back turned towards him anyway. "It's okay to be anxious. Kairi's a good friend, you've helped her a lot until things turned the way they did and you're still staying by her side and helping her. Somehow, I guess it must feel like that child's really yours."

"I know it's not mine," the blue-eyed boy replied, eventually turning around so he could look at Riku.

"Yeah. After all, I bet you still don't know how to make babies," Riku teased his friend, which earned him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Seriously, Sora, you don't have to be so nervous. As long as you know you're only there as a friend, it's okay."

It seemed like the brunet wasn't convinced. Sora said nothing and lowered his gaze, staring at nothing in particular. He looked up, though, when he felt a hand patting his head softly.

"You've always taken things to heart," Riku whispered with a soft smile playing on his lips.

When it was returned, he knew for sure that his best friend felt better now. He was about to run his fingers through soft, brown spikes but the door suddenly opened, a shy voice greeting them.

"Hey, guys. How are you-" Naminé began, only to remain silent when she found her soon to be husband lying in bed with another man. Thank god, they both had clothes on. "What are you doing?" she asked warily, frowning a bit.

"We were just talking, don't worry," Sora replied, sitting up. He could feel his heart beating quite fast due to the close proximity between Riku and him a few seconds ago. He couldn't let it show on his face, though. He didn't want his friends to have a possible fight because of him. "Anyway, did you come to see Riku, Naminé? Do you need me to leave you guys alone?" He added, already standing and making to exit the room.

"Well, there's that, too," the blonde admitted sheepishly, sorry to ask Sora to leave his own room. "But on my way here, I met Axel. He wanted to have a word with you."

"Axel? What did he want?" the blue-eyed boy asked, raising a curious eyebrow. Sure, the redhead was a good friend but he generally spent time in his room studying hard for exams and doing whatever else medicine students had to do.

"I don't know. He just told me he'd wait for you in that park nearby."

"Alright, thanks for telling me," Sora thanked her with a bright smile. "Just give me a few seconds and I'm out of here."

"Take your time. I'm imposing, after all," Naminé apologized with a shy smile.

"Don't say that. You're free to come see your lover whenever you want. Well, except in the middle of the night 'cause, obviously, I need to get some sleep," the younger teased. He put his coat on and left the room with a quick wave sent towards the couple before shutting the door.

A quite heavy silence fell on the two then and Riku felt this conversation wasn't going to be pleasant. He truly hoped his future wife didn't get the wrong idea when she saw them half-hugging in bed, even if whatever she might have thought surely wasn't far from the truth. The more the aquamarine-eyed boy thought about it, the more nervous he grew. He took a few deep breathes to settle his pounding heart and hoped Naminé didn't notice.

"Actually, there is something that's been bothering me for a while," the blonde began.

"_Here we go,_" the boy thought, stopping himself from rolling his eyes.

"It seems like you've been bothered by something lately. I don't know, it's like you're… Really distant. At first, you seemed thrilled when we talked about getting engaged but the more time passes and the more you seem against the idea. We don't talk as much and you're loosing interest in – in me," she stuttered, her voice a soft whisper at the end. She felt so selfish, saying this, but that was what she felt deep inside. "Is it because of something I did? Or said?"

Riku heaved a soft sigh and closed his eyes. He wasn't so good at hiding his secret, after all.

"It's not your fault, Naminé. I'm just feeling a bit down but it'll go away soon. I promise," the older told her girlfriend, faking a smile.

As if he'd really get over Sora. He couldn't even convince himself so he wouldn't be too surprised if she didn't believe him. He saw the blue-eyed girl frown lightly, clearly thinking hard about the matter. Riku could see her tiny, pale hands shaking a bit but she covered it by lacing her fingers tightly. Her mouth opened, then closed a few times as she struggled to get the words out. What she wanted to say obviously made her nervous. Maybe even scared.

"Do you – Do you want to cancel it?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Maybe we're… Maybe we're still too young for this. We should probably wait, at least until we've finished college."

"Naminé, it's –"

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you agreed," she cut him off abruptly, wiping a tear that had managed to escape from the corner of her eye.

"But you seemed so happy that we were getting engaged. I'm not sure I understand your reaction," Riku admitted, now completely lost. What was it with women and their sudden changes of heart? It wasn't like Naminé, though. Or maybe she was having her periods?

"And that wasn't faked, really," she immediately explained, eventually turning her head towards her boyfriend who still didn't quite get it. "Marriage seemed great when it was still a thought but now that I realize it's really going to happen, I'm actually nervous and I'm not sure it was such a good idea." She let the tears fall freely down her cheeks and didn't bother wiping them away this time. "Seeing as we've become less close for the last few weeks, I'm afraid it won't last more than a few months."

The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. It felt like she was blaming Riku for this and she hated herself because that was what she truly thought. Riku didn't look at her any more, didn't smile at her as much any more, didn't hold hands with her any more. Heck, they didn't even go further than kissing and they've been together for three years! What was wrong with him? She wasn't repulsive, was she? And now, she felt really angry at him.

"I'm sorry I've made you feel that way," Riku sincerely apologized, his gaze not meeting the blonde's.

"Is that all you have to say?" she asked, stunned. Her eyes grew wide on her face and she gaped like a fish out of water. That look would have made the silver-haired teen laugh his ass off if the situation wasn't so serious. "Don't you think something's seriously wrong?"

"What is?" the other asked a bit harshly, getting defensive.

"Riku, all we've done during those years was kissing and holding hands. I mean, you don't even look at me like some boys look at other girls. Don't you have hormones too? Or maybe I'm not pretty enough?"

Oh how she hated to act like that and every word that left her mouth made her feel like Riku was more and more unreachable. Hadn't she come to mend things? Instead of making Riku pissed, her words made him feel ashamed. He'd never considered sex as a part of their relationship since he wasn't interested in having it with girls, and he only realized now that he never considered Naminé's thoughts on the matter.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't –" Riku began, only to be cut off once more.

"I think we need to put some distance between us for awhile," she eventually told him, standing. She vigorously wiped at her cheeks to erase any evidence of her crying.

"No, Naminé! I swear I'll be more careful. Whatever you want us to do, I'll accept gladly," the boy promised, standing too. He made to embrace her but small hands pushed him back softly.

"I need some time, Riku," was all Naminé said before she left the room. He felt awful. Not because of her tears nor because of her wish to separate from him for a while. What hurt the most was that little voice in the back of his head that ignored the girl's pain and kept saying that he might finally be free very soon.

sOxOs

The least one could say was that the weather was pretty nice knowing it was the middle of October. A simple coat was still enough to keep oneself from getting cold and Sora liked that a great deal. He wasn't one for winter and every year he cursed whatever deity decided it would be the longest season of the year. Really, he liked summer so much better. He could go to the beach and spend an entire day lying on the sand and let his skin get that light brown shade Kairi liked so much. She envied his sun-kissed skin since she herself couldn't stay too long under the sun. She told him once that her having red hair was the main reason but it still didn't help him understand why she avoided the star like the plague.

Blue orbs moved from the ground to their surroundings in search of the male redhead who happened to be sitting in a wooden bench facing the middle of the park, where tables had been set to let the students play table tennis. It had been a long time since Sora played it. He wondered if Riku would mind playing with him one of these days.

"Hey," he said softly as he approached Axel. He took a sit next to the much taller boy and thrust his hands in his coat pockets.

"Hey," replied the other, not bothering to look at the younger. "So, I assume Naminé fulfilled her mission. I should give her a nice reward, then," he added with a smirk plastered to his lips. The brunet could see the mischievous glint in the other's eyes even when he could only see him from the side.

"Yeah," was the smart reply the blue-eyed boy gave. Silence followed but strangely enough, it didn't make any of them feel awkward but eventually, Sora couldn't take it any longer. "She seemed quite down when I left my room. Do you have any idea why?"

He could see a frown making its way on Axel's face as the redhead thought. Obviously, he had an idea.

"Well, I'd say it has something to do with Riku but I'm not too sure, though," the older eventually replied, stretching his legs and looking at his worn-out tennis sneakers. So that was the reason why his classmates laughed whenever he entered the lecture hall. Those stupid, penny loafer wearers. At least his shoes were cool and didn't make his feet hurt.

"Riku?" the younger repeated, genuinely surprised. "But things seem fine between them."

"Do you think so?" the other asked, lifting an eyebrow. "You're not one observant kid, are you?" Sora was about to tell him he wasn't a kid when Axel continued. "These two don't seem as close as before. I haven't known them for as long as you guys but I can tell by looking at them. Riku sat more and more often next to you even though you two weren't talking that much."

The younger chose not to comment on that particular matter.

"Anyway, how are things with Kairi?" Axel asked, quickly changing the subject.

For a moment, the blue-eyed boy wondered if that was the reason why Axel wanted to talk to him but he quickly scratched that. He could ask Kairi herself.

"We're fine. She talks a lot about her baby. My, I don't even want to be there when it's born. I guess she'll talk non stop about it and show it all around campus," the brunet joked with a goofy smile. "It's nice to see she takes this so well. She's really strong, actually."

"Women can be full of surprises sometimes, even if said surprises aren't always good ones," the redhead added with a grin. "That's why men are so much better. No surprises at all."

"Don't you start with that. You know I hate this particular conversation," the brunet muttered. He was the kind of boy who would gladly forget the world whenever someone began talking about which sex was better. In his opinion, both had good and bad sides. End of story.

"Back to sweet Kairi, it's only natural for her to be this proud. It's her first child and she wants to give birth to it. Of course she'd babble about it. Actually, it's kinda cute, don't you think?"

"I guess it is," the other admitted with a light blush on his cheeks. "Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell me? Don't tell me it's about Kairi 'cause I won't believe it."

His bluntness took Axel aback but he recovered from the small shock fast.

"Someone's impatient, I see," the older teased as he slung an arm on the bench's back, behind Sora. "I was just curious about something. It's a bit personal, though."

He took a quick look at his friend to gauge his reaction but when all he saw was a confused expression, he decided to go straight to the point.

"Are you gay?"

Now, if Axel didn't believe it was possible to choke on one's own spit, he couldn't say the same any more. He didn't know what to do as he watched the brunet cough, his face turning a bright shade of red really quickly, so he just rubbed Sora's back.

"Where did that come from?!" the younger exclaimed once he was fine again. His friend could see the small amount of fear in his eyes and he wondered what the blue-eyed boy was scared about.

"Well, seeing as you attacked my mouth at that party and all, I was just wondering," the other replied with a sheepish smile. "I didn't know it'd surprise you that much."

"I was drunk, okay? I didn't realize what I was doing at the time," the smaller defended himself, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Kairi got smashed many times but she never tried to kiss Naminé or Olette," the other made known. "Anyway, you sure you don't like guys? Not even a little?"

"What does it matter to you, anyway?" Sora retorted a bit too harshly. He cleared his throat and tried again, this time more calmly. "I mean, why do you want to know?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Axel asked, a blank expression on his face. "You really are slow," he added as he let his hand on the bench's back rise a bit so that his fingers could play with a strand of hair at the base of the other's neck. That small gesture was enough to help Sora understand what Axel was trying to say.

"Wha- You mean..?" the brunet stuttered, pointing at himself. "But why are you only asking now?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think it has to do with the fact that I've only met you last year and didn't know you well enough. Or maybe that's because you made everyone think you were going out with Kairi and-"

"Alright, I get your point," Sora cut him off, shaking his head. "I just don't know," he added, heaving a long, miserable sigh.

"Am I not your type?" the other asked, raising a single eyebrow. "You can just say it, y' know. I won't hold it against you, promise."

"It's not that, really. You're very attractive and frankly, I'm a bit surprised that you'd want to go out with me but," the younger began, getting more and more nervous.

"But..?"

"_I can't tell him I like someone who's getting married in a month!_" the younger mentally screamed. So he juts said the first thing that came to his mind. "Never mind."

"Okay. So, do you agree?" Axel asked after a short pause, not losing hope just yet.

And once again, the brunette didn't reply right away. "_This could be my chance to try and forget about Riku. I don't really like the idea of using Axel like that but as long as he doesn't know, I think it's okay,_" he thought.

"Yes," he eventually replied with a bright smile.

sOxOs

It really was a nice day. Kairi was lying on her bed, reading a comic Naminé had bought a few days ago and laughing at the jokes the author had thrown here and there. She was currently waiting for her roommate's return, who had told her she needed to have a quick talk with Riku. Her expression had let the redhead know this was something serious so she hadn't tried to know what was going on. She figured it only concerned the two lovers.

Kairi let a hand rest on her stomach that had been hurting a bit for the past few hours. Stress could do that to you so with everything that had happened with Hayner, Olette and even Sora, she wasn't all that surprised. She was turning the page she was reading when the door opened suddenly, revealing a very angry and very sad Naminé who simply headed for her own bed and fell on it on her stomach, hiding her face in her folded arms. The redhead watched her worriedly, not really knowing what had happened that made the blonde so upset and not knowing if she should try and talk to her or just leave her alone for a while.

"Naminé," she whispered, eventually deciding that talking would be better. She got up and kneeled in front of her friend's bed, reaching out to put a comforting hand on a shaking shoulder. It was an undeniable proof that the other was crying.

"That idiot, he said nothing!" Naminé suddenly exclaimed, making the other girl jump at her outburst. "I told him he was nearly ignoring me and everything and all he could say was he was sorry. He didn't even try to give me a reason!" she continued, sitting up and hitting her pillow repeatedly.

Kairi stared at her, silently sorry for that poor pillow that had done nothing wrong. "Maybe he was just confused?" she offered.

"Confused?" the blonde repeated softly. "Confused?!" she then exclaimed more loudly, twisting her head to frown at Kairi.

"I don't know why he didn't reply but I guess there was a reason," she defended herself, standing. Pain shot through her at the motion but she just ignored it, not even wincing. "How should I know?" she mumbled, going back on her bed and resuming her previous activity.

Naminé said nothing for a while. She wanted to apologize to the lavender-eyed but couldn't. Not right now. Obviously, Kairi couldn't help her figure out why Riku was acting so strangely and Riku himself didn't want to tell her anything. That only left the other boys. She could always ask them a few questions, just to know if they also noticed something was wrong. And if they didn't…

"I'll just have to call him if I can't figure out what is wrong with Riku," she decided, nodding curtly.

Kairi lifted her gaze up towards the blonde and gulped nervously. If what she thought would happen was going to happen, then she'd better warn Riku.

oooOOOooo

_I'm so sorry this chapter is so short but I can't continue it for now. Not that I don't want to but it's better for the story if I end it now. __I'll try to make the next chapter longer. I think I'll make things go a bit faster from now on. I'm afraid this story will soon get boring if I keep on delaying the main events. Anyway, thanks a bunch for your lovely reviews. You guys are so nice! D _


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer : Kingdom hearts and its characters do not belong to me.

_Please, forgive me for the mistakes I probably didn't see while correcting this chapter._

oooOOOooo

Falling asleep proved to be a huge problem that night. Riku kept thinking about his fight with Naminé, Sora couldn't get his mind off Axel's sudden interest in him, Demyx and Zexion had their own reason which wasn't as bad as their friends' and Naminé was thinking about the same thing as Riku. As for Kairi, her stomach just killed her. The pain had grown stronger and stronger during the rest of the afternoon and she absolutely had no idea why. She had tried relaxing herself with deep breathes, drank some tea, took medicine but the pain was still there. It got to the point she felt almost nauseous.

"_Man, I should just go to the bathroom,_" the redhead thought, thinking that maybe she just needed to use the toilet.

Naminé opened her eyes tiredly, a bit annoyed to be woken up when she had finally fallen asleep. She stifled a yawn and closed her eyes again. Time passed and Kairi didn't come back. The blonde frowned and sat up, taking a look at her alarm clock. It had been about a half hour since her roommate had entered the bathroom. Sleep left her, soon replaced by worry. What could take her so long?

Naminé got up and walked towards the door, knocking on it softly.

"Kairi? Are you alright?" she asked, frowning when a shaky voice answered her that everything was fine. Of course, she didn't buy it. "I'm entering, okay?" she warned as she grabbed the doorknob and began to turn it. She didn't expect what was behind the closed door.

The redhead was bent over on the floor, her hands clutching her stomach. And there was blood.

sOxOs

Sora and Riku weren't even asleep when the silver-haired boy's cell phone rang. He answered it, listened intently, said a few things pretty loudly before he hung up and threw his phone on his night stand and got up.

"Sora, wake up," he told his friend, finding the light switch and blinding both of them for a short while.

"I wasn't sleeping," the brunet stated as he watched his friend finding a pair of pants and putting them on quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Naminé just called. She's in the hospital with Kairi."

It was all that was needed for the blue-eyed teen to follow his friend out of the dorm in the middle of the night. Sora asked Riku what had happened to their friend but the blonde hadn't told her boyfriend anything, just that she was at the hospital. When they made it there, an awkward silence surrounded them. Riku and Naminé didn't seem on speaking terms as Sora guessed and he just wished Kairi was alright and would be back soon.

Somehow, his wish was granted when the girl got out of a room a few feet away from them. The couple was first to go see her and ask how she was doing. Kairi remained silent and tried to smile at them but when her eyes met Sora's, she couldn't hold the tears that were threatening to fall any longer. She ran towards him and hugged him tightly, still not saying anything. She cried for a long time and when she eventually calmed down, she didn't let go of Sora's hand. She was holding it tight and even hurting him but he said nothing and just squeezed it back.

sOxOs

"That's so horrible," Demyx whispered the next day, frowning. "And it was her first, too."

"I've heard it's not unusual to have a miscarriage when you get pregnant for the first time. I never thought it could hurt someone so much, though," Naminé replied, looking down at her lap and biting her bottom lip.

"I guess Sora's staying with her," Zexion stated as he tentatively ate some mashed potatoes. He wasn't that hungry after such news but he figured he'd need to eat if he wanted to follow all his classes in the afternoon.

"We exchanged beds so that she could stay with him. It seems like she doesn't want to see anyone else," Riku stated, pushing his tray so that the smell of his food didn't reach him. Like the others, he wasn't hungry at all.

"And… How come she… Well," the blond asked. He couldn't find the courage to finish his question.

"The doctors said it was caused by stress. It's no wonder she would be nervous after the latest events in her life," the blonde explained, soon heaving a sigh.

"Don't you think we should tell Hayner?" Demyx asked cautiously. No one talked for a moment. Right, it was also Hayner's baby but did he still consider himself a father? How would Kairi take it if they told him? Wouldn't it make things worse? But on the other hand, there was a probability that things turned for the best if the boy tried to talk to the redhead.

"Sora might know," Zexion offered when no one dared to give an opinion. It seemed like the small group was relieved when he talked and gave, as usual, a good advice.

It would have to wait, though, since they all had classes to go to and Kairi and Sora had left the dorm to go for a walk into town. The brunet thought it might do good to his friend but his efforts didn't have much success. Eventually, they decided – or rather, Sora decided to stop in a small coffee shop to take a break before they continued their stroll.

The smell of hot cocoa did wonders to his tense body and he relaxed in his seat as he let the wonderful smell work its magic. But lately, it was as if things didn't go right and as a result, he didn't have much time to relax.

"I want another baby," the redhead eventually said. It was the first words she had said since they came back from the hospital. The brunet sitting before her didn't know what to say, afraid he might only make her more upset. Still, he dared to try.

"I'm sure you'll find someone soon, Kairi. And you guys will have the cutest child," he tried to cheer her up but all the girl did was heave a long, long sigh.

"I'd love my child to have your eyes. They're really beautiful, you know? And your skin too. I don't want them to have mine and look like they're sick. It's so pale," she confided.

Sora so didn't like where this was going.

"Maybe…" she hesitated, looking at everything but him. "Maybe you could help me with that?"

"Kairi!" he exclaimed, though he hadn't meant to react so strongly.

"What? It'd only be a matter of a few minutes. I swear I won't bother you once I'm pregnant. I could even move to another town if you want! Please, Sora, don't say no!" she now begged, her eyes already shimmering with tears.

"I can't, Kairi. You know I wouldn't be able to live knowing I have a child somewhere that I'm not even taking care of. No, you're asking me too much," he stated, clenching his fists when his reply made his friend cry. He reached a hand out and put it on Kairi's. "Listen, you're just confused right now and probably even angry. Don't make such decisions when you're in such a state. You'll only regret it later," he said in a soft voice, his gaze not leaving the redhead's eyes once. He was even amazed she was actually listening to him.

"So, you really won't do it?" she asked, trying to convince him one last time but the shake of his head was firm and let her know he wouldn't change his mind.

"Maybe you hate me for it now but someday, you'll thank me, for sure," the blue-eyed boy said as he let go of the girl's hand. Her eyes widened slightly at his words and she shook her head vigorously.

"I'll never hate you, Sora. Not today nor later," Kairi told him truthfully.

He sure hoped she was right.

sOxOs

They finished their drinks and went back to the dorms. It was obvious Kairi wanted to rest for a while so Sora didn't refuse. He asked her if he should stay with her but she just told him to go to his classes. He wasn't sure this was a good idea but left nonetheless. He wouldn't go too far from his room, just in case. As he made his way to the entrance of the dorms, he spotted Demyx running towards him, a worried expression on his face. The brunet waited for him with raised eyebrows.

"What are you doing here, Demyx? Shouldn't you be in class?" the younger asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, I should. Just told the teacher I needed to use the bathroom," the blond explained, trying to catch his breath at the same time.

"In the dorms?"

"That was a lie, Sora," the older answered, wanting to laugh but refraining himself from doing so. Now wasn't the time to joke. "I've got something really important to ask you so listen carefully, 'kay?" When the blue-eyed teen nodded in agreement, he continued. "Naminé told us about Kairi's baby and, well, we were wondering if Hayner should know too. It was also his child, after all," he said, whispering the last few words when Sora's face turned into a scowl.

Obviously, he didn't like the idea. "Yeah, I know," the younger muttered, folding his arms across his chest. "What do you think Hayner will do once he knows?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Either he'll just pretend as if nothing happened or he'll want to see Kairi and maybe… Maybe he'd want to date her seriously this time. I don't really want him near her but if that's what she needs to be happy again, I guess I could make an effort," the brunet admitted with a small pout.

"So we tell him?" Demyx asked, waiting for Sora's confirmation. When the latter nodded in agreement, the blond patted him on the shoulder, offering him a small smile to cheer him up. He then turned around and ran back to class before the teacher considered he was gone for too long and got suspicious.

The brunet watched him leave, then muttered under his breath once the other boy couldn't hear him any more. Somehow, he hoped Hayner would ignore Kairi, even if it was really selfish of him. After all, he was the one who had helped her through everything. It wouldn't be fair to be cast aside now.

"Since when do I think like that? As long as Kairi's fine, then so am I," the brunet murmured, clenching his fists. Right, he was going to stick to that, no matter what would happen from now on. He nodded vigorously, only to stop when he felt arms wrapping around his slim waist from behind. His body tensed and he didn't dare turn his head to see who it was.

"What are you doing, standing here and nodding to yourself?" a deep voice whispered in his ear. Sora relaxed, recognizing it almost immediately.

"Please, don't scare me like that, Axel. You know it's bad for my heart," the blue-eyed teen joked, turning around so that he could look at the redhead. He took a step back to free himself from the embrace and offered his boyfriend a wide smile.

"You're talking like an old man," Axel teased before he gave the brunet a peck on the cheek, which made said brunet blush a dark red. "Hey, what are you doing in the dorms? Skipping class?"

"You mean you don't know?" Sora asked, lifting a single eyebrow, his expression soon mirrored by the taller boy. "But the guys talked about it during lunch."

"I didn't have lunch with them. They were going to their afternoon classes when I entered the cafeteria," Axel replied, crossing his arms. "Did something happen?"

Sora wondered if he should tell him about Kairi's miscarriage. It felt like gossiping but not telling Axel wasn't right, was it? After all, he was one of his close friends too. Besides, Axel wasn't the type to gossip.

"Kairi lost her baby," the brunet stated, suddenly finding the floor much more interesting than his lover's face. The redhead said nothing but Sora could hear faint noises as the taller opened, and then closed his mouth, probably wanting to say something but not managing to. "As you can guess, she's not feeling too good so I'm staying with her until she feels better."

"I understand," the taller replied, scratching the back if his neck. "So, err, do you mind if I stay with you or do you want me to…" he began, biting his bottom lip.

"Stay," Sora told him, eventually lifting his gaze from the ground to Axel's bright, green eyes. "She wants to stay alone for a while and, well, I don't really know what to do now. I'd appreciate some company."

"So, you only need me until she wants to see you again?" the redhead asked with a straight face. When Sora's eyes doubled in size, he continued. "I was just kidding, don't worry."

They ended up walking in the building's corridors, talking about everything, from small events to school in general. Axel liked to talk about his classes and even though Sora didn't understand half of it, he still liked to listen to him. It was evident the redhead liked his studies and was trying his hardest to pass his exams, never hesitating to sacrifice a night's sleep to study. That was something Sora could never do and it made him look up to his lover even more. It was already impressive Axel was one of the few students who made it to their second year in college and the brunet was sincerely proud of him. He could still remember that party they all had to celebrate the end of another school year. The green-eyed boy was so ecstatic that he got accepted. Sora didn't remember much of what happened next, though, except for the fact he had kissed Axel. But even that was forgotten by him until Axel told him. He had been so embarrassed at that time.

"Back to Kairi's issue, I think you made the right choice," the redhead told his friend when the previous conversation died. "Hayner has the right to know."

"Yeah, even if I don't like him all that much any more," Sora replied with a cute pout. "He's pained her so much."

"Everyone makes mistakes, you know. We're only humans," Axel told him wisely, looking at the big, blue sky that reminded him so much of the younger boy next to him. It looked just as pure and somehow unreachable even though it seemed so close to him. "I'm sure he's not as bad as you think he is."

"Maybe," the brunet replied with a small shrug. "Can we go back to my room now? I don't want to leave her alone for too long."

"Sure."

sOxOs

Unfortunately for the two boys, especially Sora, fate had decided that he wouldn't see his room again before a long while. When the two entered the brunet's room, Kairi wasn't alone. It seemed that Hayner already knew about her miscarriage and had decided to visit her. So, the couple decided to go for another walk until the blond left.

"The guys told me about the baby. I met Demyx a few minutes ago," Hayner began softly, his gaze not meeting the redhead's.

"I see. I was wondering how you knew," Kairi whispered, not looking at him either. It just felt too awkward after all the things he had told her a few days ago.

"I'm sorry," the blond added, glancing at her. She looked exhausted and pale. Her beautiful eyes looked dull as if she was an empty shell, which she was in a way.

"It wasn't your fault," the girl replied with a small shake of her head.

"I think it was," Hayner insisted, eventually sitting beside her on the bed and taking her hand in his. She looked at him when she felt him squeeze it softly. "I acted like a real jerk and… And maybe our child would still be alive if I hadn't acted the way I did. I was so mad at the time I didn't realize what I was saying until Sora hit me. Then, I was mad at myself and I just took it out on him, I guess."

"You should apologize to him, you know. He's really mad at you. He only wanted to protect me," Kairi explained as she stared at their joined hands.

"I will. I have to because… Well," the blond began, looking away again. That aroused Kairi's curiosity and she looked at his blushing face.

"You have to because?" the girl said in a gentle voice.

"Do you hate me, Kairi?" Hayner suddenly asked, still looking elsewhere. He bit his bottom lip and the quivering of his hand let the redhead know he felt extremely nervous at that moment.

"Of course I don't. What is it you're trying to say?"

Finally, and slowly, the blond turned his head to stare at her and all she could see in his eyes was determination. He held her hand a little tighter and sat a bit closer.

"Could we… I mean, I want to date you. I know I've hurt you and I'm not asking you to forgive me because I don't deserve it. All I want is another chance to prove how dear you are to me," he stated with a slightly trembling voice. He almost jumped when the girl sat up, placed her hands on his red cheeks and pecked him on the lips.

"I'd love to," she replied in a soft voice. She soon started chuckling, now confusing Hayner. What was so funny? "But really, that was so cliché."

"Sorry," he mumbled, soon adding a soft "and thank you" before he kissed her. That small gesture was all Kairi needed to move on.

A while later, Sora and Axel came back and the new couple told them the great news. Well, they were great for everyone except Sora who still held a grudge against Hayner but they all figured it would go pretty soon. Kairi went to the cafeteria to eat dinner with everyone and all felt relieved when she was almost as cheerful as usual.

"Is this guy really your boyfriend this time, Kairi?" Demyx teased the girl with a huge grin on his face. She laughed a bit and assured him that it was serious. The musician then kept joking with the new lovers while Riku had his eyes on his brunet friend who seemed pretty close to Axel, all of a sudden. It truly bothered him to see them so friendly and touchy-feely. Was it that necessary for Axel to keep his hand on Sora's shoulder all the time?

"He warned you, didn't he?" the silver-haired boy heard Zexion whisper to him as he pointed at Demyx.

"Yeah, he did," Riku muttered with a frown. "I didn't think he'd be so quick, though."

"Axel's not the kind of guy to wait when he can get what he wants immediately," the older boy replied, silently wondering if he should eat all of his pasta and not his dessert. But that pie seemed so delicious, it would be a waste to throw it. Zexion put his fork down and reached out to grab his slice of pie. "I see your relationship with Naminé is quite a mess right now," he commented as if it were a common thing to say.

"You bet," the aquamarine-eyed boy said with a small laugh that surely wasn't a happy one. "I think she wants to dump me but she's said nothing yet."

"Well, look on the bright side : when she dumps you, all you'll have to do is wait for Sora and Axel to break up so that you can date him," the slate-haired boy stated before he took a bite of his dessert.

"What if they don't? What if they like being together?" Riku asked, now really nervous. He then blinked a few times. "Wait a minute… They're actually together?!"

"That's pretty obvious," Zexion stated with a raised eyebrow.

"I just thought he was being too friendly!" the silver-haired boy exclaimed, his outburst catching a few people's attention at their table. He coughed a bit before he continued : "I mean, Sora really is gay, then?"

"Looks like it to me but I can't be too sure. Maybe he just didn't want to say no so he accepted. That or he is gay," the older replied with a shrug.

"Why didn't he tell me?" the silver-haired boy whined, letting his forehead hit the table softly. "That dumbass."

"Why didn't _you_ tell _him_?" Zexion asked and when the younger lifted his head up and looked at him, he added : "One of the things you should learn is that you'll get nothing if you keep waiting for the other part to make the first move. Especially if it concerns Sora."

As if to emphasize his words, Zexion pointed at Sora who was doing nothing to return Axel's obviously sincere feelings towards him. The brunet was still acting like the redhead was one of his good friends and the sight made the slate-haired boy sorry for Axel. He figured Sora would be less shy as his relationship grew stronger, if it ever did.

"Axel's the only one being so lovey-dovey. Maybe Sora doesn't like him that much?" Riku wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow.

"You never showed your attraction to Sora even though you like him," the older stated.

Riku didn't answer and simply sighed. What could he say to this? Zexion was right.

sOxOs

The rest of the week was mostly uneventful. Hayner sat again with his friends at the cafeteria, much to Sora's annoyance but he never said it out loud. He figured he should give the blond another chance but that didn't mean he'd do it right now.

Naminé and Riku had yet to make up but from the way they both avoided each other, it seemed like they'd break up soon and possibly wouldn't be on speaking terms after that. It worried everyone because that meant one of them would probably leave their small group and that was something no one wanted.

"Man, this is so messed up," Axel complained one afternoon in his dorm room. Sora had decided to see him for a short while so that the redhead could take a break in his studies and Kairi had joined him without really asking if she could. It wasn't like she wasn't welcomed anyway.

"Yeah, it's getting worse and worse," the girl agreed with a small shake of her head. "Naminé and I talked for a while yesterday and she decided to definitely stop seeing him. I think she's going to tell him tonight or sometime soon. She's really pissed."

"You bet. They were supposed to get married next month," Axel stated with a shrug. "How come it turned out that way so suddenly?"

"It's not sudden at all. Actually, I'm surprised they didn't fight sooner," Kairi confided, frowning lightly. "It's been a while since Naminé wondered why they never got further than kissing. I'd be worried too if I were in her place."

"Maybe Riku's the kind of guy who waits until marriage to have sex?" the green-eyed boy offered, raising his eyebrows. "I wouldn't understand his decision but it's not impossible, right?"

"Riku's not like that," Sora eventually intervened, looking thoughtful. "If he wants to say or do something, he doesn't wait and just go for it. There's something else…"

An awkward silence followed his sentence, each knowing what that something could be. Was Riku seeing someone else? The more Sora thought about it, the more he found the idea stupid. He'd have known it if his best friend was cheating on Naminé. Besides, it wasn't like Riku at all to betray people. What he didn't think of was the possibility his childhood friend might like someone but didn't say it.

"I think I should talk to him," the brunet suddenly stated, determined. "I'll have him tell me what's destroying his relationship and help him. That's what I should do as his best friend."

"Well, I don't like this," Axel told his lover, pouting. "I don't want him to try and ask you to help him get better, if you know what I mean."

"You're not seriously thinking this, are you?" Kairi asked, raising a single eyebrow. There was a hint of a smile on her lips and from hearing her voice, it was clear she'd burst out laughing any moment now.

"I shouldn't? They're roommates and best friends. It wouldn't be so surprising," the redhead retorted, now pouting and blushing a little.

"It's ridiculous! Riku wouldn't!" Sora exclaimed as his face turned a deep red. He truly hoped he'd forget soon and wouldn't think about this when he talked to his friend but he knew it wasn't likely.

"Alright, do as you want but don't come crying on my shoulder when he molests you," Axel muttered, turning around on his chair to face his desk and study.

Well, that surprised the two other students, to say the least. Was he jealous just because of this? That thought made the brunet frown. Axel wouldn't possibly ask him to choose between his best friend and his lover, right?

"_I'm thinking too much again,_" Sora thought, shaking his head. He then rose to his feet and left the older boy, Kairi following suit but not without glancing between the two lovers.

"I can't believe he said something like that!" the brunet exclaimed once he was alone with Kairi. "Does he really think Riku's that kind of guy?"

"Don't take it to heart, Sora. Maybe he was in a bad mood and took it out on you. I'm not saying he's right to do this but, well, it would explain his reaction," the redhead replied with a small shrug. "It's nothing to worry about."

"If you say so…" the blue-eyed boy muttered with a pout.

Thanks to Axel's words, he now felt really nervous about being in the same room as Riku. But the younger figured his lover was simply being jealous and didn't want Sora to be close to another man and truly, Axel had every reason to react this way but no one knew it. For now.

oooOOOooo

_I get the feeling my chapters are shorter and shorter. Oo; I'm sorry it took so long to update. School began a while back and of course homework wasn't far behind. Thanks a bunch for your patience and I hope you liked this chapter! D Thanks for your reviews, too! I truly appreciate __each of them. X3 _


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer : Kingdom Hearts and its characters do not belong to me.

oooOOOooo

It was a cold day and the wind didn't help at all when it came to warming up. It seemed that no matter how many layers of clothes one wore, it would never be enough to block the fresh air. So it was not surprising for Axel to wonder how someone could stand in front of the school dorms for so long wearing only a jacket and a scarf. Eventually, the redhead couldn't refrain from getting out of his room to meet the stranger he had been watching for about an hour now.

"Hey, are you waiting for someone from the dorm?" Axel asked once he was close enough for the blond boy to hear him. Said blond turned around and sent an annoyed look towards Axel.

"Is that a problem?" The younger asked curtly, frowning.

"Whoa, cool down, man. I'm only asking," the green-eyed boy replied, raising his hands in front of him as if to shield himself from the fierce glare he was receiving. "You've been waiting here for a while and I just thought you needed some help."

"Well, I don't but since you've come here to help, I guess it would be a waste to just send you back."

Axel's eye twitched.

"_What a brat! I'm such an idiot for worrying about him. Tch, I hope he freezes to death right here,_" he thought as he kept smiling.

"My sister's living here but I don't know her room number and that airhead doesn't answer her phone. Anyway, do you know someone called Naminé? She has long, blonde hair, blue eyes and –"

"Oh, sure I know her. She's in class right know, which would explain why she's not answering your calls," Axel told the younger. "But she should come back to the dorm any moment now."

"I see," the blond replied with a shrug before a heavy silence fell on the two.

Now would be a good time to explain something about Axel. When in a silent environment, such as the one he was in at that time, he had a tendency to become really nervous and to say pretty stupid things.

"Would you like to come inside?"

His question was met with silence for a moment.

"I don't even know you," replied the other boy, staring suspiciously at the tall redhead. "You could be a psycho for all I know."

"Come on, it's not like I'm the grim reaper or something!"

"Then prove it."

"What the?! Argh, fine, stay here if you enjoy the cold so much! I'm leaving," Axel exclaimed, turning to go back inside. But a familiar voice stopped him.

"Roxas, you're here!"

Naminé came running towards his brother, giving him a bone-crushing hug as soon as he was at arm's length. Behind her, Sora raised curious eyebrows, wondering who the boy called Roxas could be while Kairi remained emotionless.

"I've been here for a while, now. Thanks to you my fingers are completely numb," Roxas complained as he broke the embrace.

"Let's get inside, I'll introduce you guys then," Naminé offered, taking the blond's hand in hers to lead him inside the building.

They all went in the girl's room and sat on the beds, everyone facing one another.

"Everyone, meet my brother, Roxas. Roxas, meet my friends Kairi, Sora and Axel," Naminé said, pointing at her friends as she said their names.

"_Oh no, so she really called him,_" Kairi thought, trying her best to not let her surprise show.

"I didn't know you had a sibling, Naminé. Somehow, I was convinced you were an only child," Sora admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

"So, where is he?" Roxas stated, effectively ending whatever conversation they were having until then.

"Where is who?" The brunet couldn't help but ask, looking at everyone but Axel. Even though a few days had passed, the redhead still hadn't forgiven his lover for talking to his best friend. It sounded stupid but that was to be expected of a reaction that was stupid itself.

"Riku's not here. He doesn't know I asked you to come," the blonde answered, her gaze not meeting Roxas'.

The brunet didn't know everything about the current situation but Roxas' look was enough to let him know he wasn't here for pleasant matters. His look was murderous and there was no doubt things would turn out bad if he saw, let alone talked to Riku. Sora now understood his best friend's words from a few days ago.

sOxOs

_After walking Kairi to her dorm room, Sora went back to his own, bent on having a serious conversation with Riku. __As dense as the brunet might be from time to time, he clearly knew there was something Riku wasn't telling anyone. He figured he'd talk freely with his childhood friend. _

_When Sora entered their shared room, the silver-haired boy was lying on his bed, his eyes close__d as if he were sleeping. The blue-eyed boy knew he wasn't from the small twitch his eye made when he had closed the door. Slowly, almost cautiously, the younger made his way towards his bed and sat at the foot of it, glancing at his best friend._

_"You seem down," Sora stated. It was obvious the silver-haired boy was troubled. Riku wasn't the type to spend his day lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. The simple fact he was doing nothing was proof that something was bothering him. _

_"Do you want to talk about it?" The brunet asked when his friend didn't say anything._

_"What is there to say? I screwed up big time. End of discussion," Riku eventually said with a small shrug of his shoulders. "Where have you been?"_

_"In Axel's room." When his reply made the aquamarine-eyed boy sit up suddenly, the younger continued. "I was with Kairi and all we did was talk. About you."_

_"What did you discuss about exactly?"_

_"Listen, Riku, I know something's wrong with Naminé and it truly saddens me to see you two fight like that. You've been getting along just fine for all these years and you were even ready to get married. It really is hard for me to understand how your relationship ended up the way it did."_

_There was a heavy silence then. For a moment, Sora was afraid his best friend was mad at him because of what he said and was about to apologize but the silver-haired boy's chuckle stopped him._

_"What's so funny?" T__he brunet asked, getting a bit defensive._

_"It's so ironic, really," Riku told him with a shake of his head. "You want an explanation? Alright, you'll get one. To make a long story short, Naminé is pissed because we never went past kissing and she assumes it's because I'm not interested in her," the older explained calmly._

_Sora blinked a few times. "And is she right?" He couldn't help but ask._

_"I guess so."_

_"That's all it does to you? Aren't you even a bit sad?"_

_"What's to come isn't something to be sad about. _Annoyed_ would be more fitting."_

sOxOs

The raised voices coming from the silver-haired boy's room could be heard in the entire corridor and Sora found himself apologizing to his neighbours more than once. He'd been studying peacefully, with Riku still brooding on his bed, until someone knocked on their door – that someone being Roxas. Said boy bluntly asked the brunet to leave and let him have a quick talk with Riku. In the end, Sora was sure it had been an hour since he'd been kicked out of his own room. How rude was that?!

"_Who the hell does he think he is? That damn blond,_" Sora cursed mentally, quickly apologizing to all the blonds, including Naminé. Really, he only had something against Roxas.

A particularly loud sound made the blue-eyed boy jump and stand up abruptly. Sora tried to hear what was going on inside the room but he heard nothing. Panic took over him and he began imagining the worst possibilities as to why it was so quiet. Maybe Roxas had hit Riku and the latter was now lying on the floor, unconscious. Maybe he was even hurt and bleeding to death while Roxas was just looking at him, grinning like a mad man. Murderers were often described as calm persons, right? What if Roxas was one of those persons?

The brunet couldn't take the heavy silence any more and burst into the room. The sight that greeted him was, thankfully, not as bad as he had first imagined. Roxas had his back turned towards him and Riku was sitting on the floor, his hand wiping at the corner of his mouth. Nothing else was needed for the younger to understand what had just happened.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Sora exclaimed, coming to stand before his best friend, who didn't dare look at anything but the floor.

"I'm just showing that bastard what it costs to make fun of my little sister," the blond snapped, glaring at the blue-eyed boy standing in front of him. "Now, move."

"No way! I'm not letting you hurt him!" Sora replied, standing his ground. "I'm really sorry for Naminé but I'm also sorry for my best friend that they have to break up. You should feel the same."

"How can I possibly feel sorry for _that_," Roxas said, pointing an accusing finger at the silver-haired boy. "When he's just told me that he likes someone else? He was cheating on her!"

"He wasn't! I've never seen him with any other girl," Sora protested, his fists shaking at his sides.

When Riku noticed his friend's nervousness, he stood up and put a hand on the brunet's shoulder, shaking his head slowly, almost tiredly.

"Just drop it, okay? He's right, I was an ass," the older admitted with a soft voice. Those few words left the brunet speechless and he simply stood there, not daring to talk for the moment.

"I'll let you off for now but I'll come back for sure," the blond threatened before he left for good, slamming the door shut.

An eerie silence filled the room as the two friends stared at the floor. Sora wanted to ask Riku if Roxas had lied or not about him seeing someone else and Riku simply wanted to say the truth. Both couldn't for fear of what would happen prevented them from talking.

sOxOs

The next few days, Sora discovered one thing about Roxas : he could be really mature except when it came to his sister. The blond hadn't talked to him at all and the few times their eyes met, Roxas would glare at Sora before looking elsewhere.

"That's so childish," the blue-eyed boy whispered, sitting on Axel's bed. It seemed the redhead had decided he had been away from his boyfriend for too long and wanted them to hang out again, which truly surprised the younger. But he wouldn't complain. A friendly Axel was far better than a pissed one.

"What is?" The green-eyed man asked, looking from his book to Sora, next to him.

"Roxas' behaviour. He's ignoring me just because I'm Riku's friend and tried to protect him. How immature is that?"

"He's just protecting his sister, that's all," the older replied, shifting slightly so that he could have a better look at Sora. "I think I'd act the same way if my sister experienced the same thing."

"You have a sister?" The brunet asked, tilting his head to the side as he raised an eyebrow.

"That was just an example, silly," Axel told his lover as he pushed him playfully.

"Yeah, right," Sora whispered. He faked being mad and pouted, his arms folded across his chest.

"Hey, there's something I've been planning to tell you for a while now," Axel began, closing his book and setting it on his bedside table. "Actually, it's about us."

"Okay?" The younger said slowly, not entirely sure about where this was going.

"Well, you see… How should I say this?" The green-eyed boy wondered aloud as he scratched the top of his head nervously. "It doesn't really feel like we're… Well, lovers."

"What do you mean?"

"We're holding hands, hugging and all and that's great. But we've never really kissed before."

Sora thought about it for a while and realized that they, indeed, hadn't even shared a kiss yet – while he was sober, that is. He also figured it might have had something to do with him. He liked Axel, he truly did, but he never imagined their relationship going past small shows of affection.

"Oh man," the blue-eyed boy whimpered, hiding his face in his hands.

"Don't worry your cute little head, now. I've realized this pretty soon so it doesn't hurt too much. It does, of course, but it's bearable," Axel half-joked.

"I'm so sorry, Axel. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything. It's just that," the other began. But he didn't finish what he was saying.

"There's someone else, right?" The redhead guessed, nodding to himself when his friend didn't reply. "I guess it's not likely to work with that special someone if you've agreed to date me."

"There were many problems, one being that person already dating someone. But they've broken up so maybe…" Sora trailed off, looking to the side. He felt a bit bad for Naminé for saying that but that was what he truly felt. He was so glad his best friend had ended everything with her.

"May I know who I've lost you to? I swear I'm not going to kick their butt or nuts, or both," the taller promised, raising his right hand to show his sincerity. But even without that, it was obvious when looking at his eyes that he meant every word he had said. Sora considered keeping his crush's name a secret but after what he had done to Axel, he figured the older had a right to know.

"I'll tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Got it?" Sora asked, only continuing when Axel nodded in agreement. "The truth is I like Riku. A lot. Of course, he doesn't know this."

"Riku? Seriously?" The redhead asked, his eyes widening with surprise. "Man, now I understand why I hated to see you two together so much," he muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe it was more obvious than I thought, then," the brunet said timidly, his gaze not meeting the other's.

"You wouldn't want Roxas to know about this," Axel wondered aloud, lifting his head up to stare at the ceiling. "That little demon would probably try to rip your guts out for taking advantage of his beloved sister's misery." The brunet made to protest but his friend was quicker. "I know you're not but I'm pretty sure that's the way he would see it."

"I'm totally screwed. I can't even try to talk with Riku until Roxas leaves. How long does he intend to stay here anyway? Doesn't he go to college too?" Sora complained, eventually pouting.

"I heard Naminé will be leaving soon. I guess he's waiting for her," the older said. That caught the blue-eyed boy's attention.

"Wait a minute. When and where did you hear that?!"

"Roxas said it."

Sora said nothing and simply stared at the redhead.

"It's like what happened with Hayner and Olette. Naminé doesn't even want to hear about Riku any more, so she's leaving."

So that was it? Their relationship that had lasted for so long was going to end just like that? Somehow, it didn't sit right with Sora and he wished there was something he could do to make the situation better, even if just a little bit. It seemed Axel immediately understood what his younger friend was thinking about because he simply looked at him and shook his head, clearly disagreeing with the idea.

"It's their problem, Sora. Not yours."

The younger had nothing to reply. Axel was right, after all.

sOxOs

Naminé's lesson ended late that night so Roxas decided to wait for her outside. His plan was going smoothly until Demyx spotted him. It seemed the blond made it a habit to appear at the wrong time. It wasn't like Roxas knew him well enough to make such a statement but he assumed that was the case since Demyx was actually ruining his plan – which was to wait for his sister and help her pack the rest of her stuff.

"You sure like to wait out there," the older stated as he literally dragged Roxas to his dorm room.

"Yeah, so may I just do that? Wait outside?"

"No way. I need to have a word with you right now," Demyx told him, stopping before the door to his room. He took his keys out of his jean's pocket and unlocked the door. He then opened it and let the younger blond enter first. "Please, have a seat."

The older boy pointed to his bed and Roxas sat on it, looking awfully annoyed.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" The younger asked, sounding uninterested.

That wasn't going to last long.

"Actually, it's about Riku," Demyx began, taking a seat next to Roxas, who turned a furious glare toward him. "Please, don't be so mad at him. It may be difficult for you but at least, try to understand that all he wanted was your sister's happiness. I must admit he didn't quite do the right thing when he accepted to go out with her but the events back then were – "

"Would you just get to the point?" Roxas cut him off, folding his arms before his chest in an impatient manner.

"Alright, alright. There's no need to be so rude," the older blond muttered, a pout making its way on his lips. "The truth is Riku have always liked his best friend but said friend never seemed to share his feelings. So, when Naminé confessed to Riku, he decided to try and forget him by starting a relationship with her but unfortunately, it didn't work as well as he'd imagined."

A long and heavy silence then filled the room. The smaller blond stared at the floor, thinking. His expression hardened as he raised his gaze and glared at the wall in front of him.

"So, basically, you're saying she was just a substitute?" He eventually asked.

"The way I see it, I'd say she was more like his last hope. Loving a friend you care for isn't so easy. You are afraid to lose said friend even if you know, deep down, that he will never leave you even if you were to tell him you've been in love with him for years," Demyx explained, his words secretly fuelling Roxas' anger. "I mean, come on, Sora's not the type of guy who'd – "

"Just wait a minute," the younger blond suddenly interrupted him as he stood up. "You mean Sora's the one Riku loves?"

Demyx could only nod in agreement as he realized his slip-up.

"That's sick. They're both guys."

And with that, Roxas left the room, leaving a now worried Demyx behind.

sOxOs

The next day, Naminé's friends bid her farewell. The goodbyes were a bit depressing with Kairi crying and everyone else not saying a single word. Riku was there too, even though he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"We'll keep in touch, right?" Kairi asked between sniffles, her eyes red and puffy.

The blonde smiled sweetly at her and nodded. "Of course," she replied as she gave the redhead a quick hug. "We'll see each other often. I'm not going that far, after all."

"We'll miss you, Naminé," Demyx stated, quickly taking her in his arms. Beside him, Zexion gave a nod and pated her shoulder.

"Well, good luck with everything," the blonde said once she faced Sora.

It was a bit awkward seeing as he was her ex's best friend but she was mature enough to not hold any grudge against him. She gave him a small smile before turning towards Riku, her smile disappearing as she did such.

"Roxas told me," she began, glancing at the brunet. "I'm still quite mad at you but I do understand how hard it is to let go of that special person. I hope you guys will be happy by each other's side."

She offered a warm smile to Sora only and said brunet's eyes doubled in size. He swiftly turned his head towards his childhood friend, thinking that maybe she was just smiling at him because she couldn't look Riku in the eye yet. But the older boy's red cheeks confirmed his suspicions and Naminé then realized her slip.

"Naminé, we're going. Come on," Roxas called her and she was more than glad to escape right now.

The siblings waved goodbye to their friends, who waved back and watched them leave before going back inside the dorms, leaving two embarrassed friends behind.

"Riku… Did I understand that right?" Sora asked, his voice no louder than a whisper. Seeing his friend was not replying, he heaved a long sigh and scratched the back of his neck. "Listen, I- "

"I'm sorry. I know it's weird and disgusting so I'll just forget about that. Please, just don't hate me, Sora."

The despair in Riku's voice truly surprised the younger boy. But what surprised him the most was that he denied nothing.

"Oh man," the brunet whispered, closing his eyes and his hands coming to rub his temples slowly like he was having a very bad headache. "This is so stupid."

"Sora…" Riku said, nervous.

"To think I've spent all these years believing it would be best to say nothing and kept my feelings for myself when you did just the same thing. Riku, do you realize how dumb that was?" Sora asked with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Wait, what do you mean?" The other asked, not wanting to get his hopes up and be depressed when he discovered he was wrong.

"Come on, I thought you were smarter that than, Riku," the blue-eyed boy teased, a goofy grin on his lips. "What you were feeling for me all this time… It wasn't, isn't one-sided at all," he eventually told his friend, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red.

Riku hesitated, debating whether he heard that right or not. When he saw Sora's face as red as it was a moment before, he decided that he wasn't dreaming and that his childhood friend liked him back. It felt so unreal, though. He had spent so many years hiding his feelings and thinking he'd never get to be together with Sora. And today, that finally came true and what was he doing? He was having doubts about the situation. Maybe he was dreaming and he'd wake up soon. Or he had died and God granted him a last wish before he was sent to Hell – because that was where guys like him were supposed to go. He so hoped Sora would never end up –

"Riku? What's wrong? You look sick," Sora commented, biting his bottom lip. Now, even he was having doubts.

"It's real, isn't it? It's not some kind of dream and I won't wake-up, right?" The green-eyed boy asked, his eyes finally meeting Sora's blue ones. They held a bit of worry but most of all, they looked amused.

"Of course not, silly," The brunet replied, closing the distance between them to quickly press his soft lips to Riku's. "See?"

The older boy heaved a pleased sigh and placed his arms around Sora's waist to bring him closer. He inhaled his soft spikes and found that they didn't really smell like what he had imagined. No cinnamon or vanilla or any other sent he thought it would smell. It just smelt like, well, hair.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked curiously, gazing up at his now boyfriend.

"I'm a bit disappointed. Do you even use shampoo to wash your hair?"

That earned him an elbow in the ribs that didn't hurt so much. He couldn't help but laugh, soon followed by Sora who held his hand in his and led them to the dorms. Both whished then that they would always stay that way and knew that it would never change, even if they wanted to. But why would they when they finally had what they wanted? They knew now that their love wasn't one-sided.

oooOEndOooo

_You can't even begin to imagine how ashamed I am of this ending. It's so bad it could be in the History of Bad Endings. But I just can't continue this story anymore and I think it's better to stop now before it gets any worse. (it might be a bit too late for that but well…) I still hope you liked it somehow and that you're not too disappointed in this story. (though I'd understand if you were ^^;) Thanks for reading this and leaving reviews if you did. =)_


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